The Impact of a Mindfulness Intervention on Elementary Classroom Climate and Student and Teacher Mindfulness: a Pilot Study

Objectives Schools have begun to use mindfulness training as one strategy for improving students' academic achievement and social-emotional functioning. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of a brief mindfulness intervention on classroom climate and academic outcomes (i.e., reading fluency). Methods Seven elementary school classrooms participated in a 10-week mindfulness intervention and were matched with seven control classrooms. Teachers were trained to implement a 2-min mindfulness-based intervention delivered three times per day. Results Results from this quasi-experimental study indicated an increase in classroom satisfaction among students participating in the intervention. Students in both control and intervention classes demonstrated increases in friction and decreases in cohesion. Improvements in students' reading fluency were also observed. Teachers in the intervention group reported higher levels of classroom cohesion following the intervention. Both intervention and control group teachers reported changes in classroom climate over time, specifically indicating decreases in friction. Conclusions Results from this exploratory study illustrate the varied implications and practicality of a brief mindfulness-based intervention in the classroom setting. Improvements in classroom satisfaction were evident for students; decreases in classroom cohesion and increases in friction emerged for both intervention and control groups. Further, discrepancies between teacher and student perceptions of class climate were also determined. These findings suggest that additional factors may be influencing classroom climate. Study limitations and avenues for future research are discussed.