Crompton Katie, Fasulo Alessandra, Kaklamanou Daphne, Somogyi Eszter
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Science, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
J Child Fam Stud. 2025;34(5):1307-1321. doi: 10.1007/s10826-025-03047-6. Epub 2025 Mar 28.
School-based mindfulness programmes (SBMPs) are becoming widely used in primary schools, however findings regarding their effectiveness are controversial. Understanding how children describe and interpret the experience of taking part in these programmes may hold the key for improving their effectiveness. In this study we sought to gather children's views about a 12-lesson SBMP called Paws b. A week after the completion of the SBMP in five classes of two primary schools, during Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) lessons, we conducted four focus groups with 8- and 9-year-olds. We randomly selected two girls and two boys from each class to form each focus group. The discussion was led by a different researcher that had not been associated with the delivery of the lessons. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on the transcribed data. We identified three major themes in children's discussions: (1) Mindfulness as instrumental for self-regulation, (2) Continued practice can lead to positive changes, and (3) Embedded memories from Paws b. The themes indicate that children remembered key practices and information, and used them in daily life. They enjoyed the training although not always from the beginning, observed changes in themselves and in their classmates and understood mechanisms through which mindfulness training can have positive effects. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to both the content of this specific SBPM and the way in which the course was delivered.
基于学校的正念课程（SBMPs）正在小学中广泛应用，然而关于其效果的研究结果存在争议。了解孩子们如何描述和解释参与这些课程的体验可能是提高其效果的关键。在本研究中，我们试图收集孩子们对一个名为“ paws b”的12节SBMP课程的看法。在两所小学的五个班级完成SBMP课程一周后，在个人社会与健康教育（PSHE）课上，我们对8岁和9岁的孩子进行了四个焦点小组访谈。我们从每个班级中随机挑选两名女孩和两名男孩组成每个焦点小组。讨论由一位与课程授课无关的不同研究人员主持。对转录的数据进行了反思性主题分析。我们在孩子们的讨论中确定了三个主要主题：（1）正念作为自我调节的工具；（2）持续练习可带来积极变化；（3）“ paws b”课程的深刻记忆。这些主题表明，孩子们记住了关键的练习和信息，并将其应用于日常生活中。他们喜欢这种训练，尽管并非一开始就喜欢，他们观察到了自己和同学的变化，并理解了正念训练产生积极效果的机制。我们结合这一特定SBPM的内容以及课程的授课方式讨论了这些发现的意义。
