Exploring the Effects of a Mindfulness Program for Students of Secondary School

This study analyzes the effects of a mindfulness program on a group of students in the first year of Compulsory Secondary Education from three public schools. A total of 61 students participated. A group comparison design (randomized controlled trial) with pretest-posttest measurement was used on an experimental and a control group. The statistical analyses show a significant improvement of academic performance, as well as an increase in all self-concept dimensions and a significant decrease in anxiety states and traits. These results are in agreement with other studies that have found mindfulness programmes to be effective in the educative system. The importance of mindfulness techniques in the educative system is also discussed. 1993). Corbière, Fraccaroli, Mbekou, and Perron (2006) also found a significant and positive correlation between academic self-concept, academic interest, and academic achievement. Other studies show that the higher a student’s positive self-concept is, the better the conditions motivating study (anxiety, concentration and aptitude for school work) and the stronger study and deep-learning strategies used, which also makes positive self-concept favor the student’s use of more cognitive learning strategies, thereby facilitating more profound, elaborate information processing (González-Pienda et al., 2002; Núñez et al., 1998). DOI: 10.4018/jksr.2011010102 International Journal of Knowledge Society Research, 2(1), 14-28, January-March 2011 15 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. This active involvement in the learning process increases when the student feels selfcompetent believes in his own abilities and has high expectations for self-effectiveness (Millar, Behrens, & Greene, 1993). This also increases when tasks are evaluated and when he feels responsible for the learning goals, which improves his academic performance (Núñez, GonzálezPienda, García, González-Pumariega, & García, 1995). It has also been demonstrated that high levels of stress in the academic environment cause attention and concentration deficits, difficulties in memorizing and problem solving, deficits in study skills, low productivity and academic performance (Pérez, Martín, Borda, & Del Río, 2003). Anxiety is also one of the main factors negatively affecting academic performance. Carbonero (1999) says that anxiety can lead to deterioration of academic performance because the student focuses on negative thoughts about his abilities more than on the task itself. Rivas (1997) notes that students with high anxiety levels tend to focus their attention on how hard the task is, on their academic failures and on their lack of personal skills. High levels of anxiety therefore tend to alter the student’s psychological functioning to the extent that memory, attention and concentration are affected and diminished, disturbing academic performance, as this requires attention, concentration and sustained effort to be maintained at an optimum, effective level (Rains, 2004). Research, such as the studies by Del Barrio (1997) and Mestre (1992) has demonstrated both an increase in emotional disorders (anxiety and depression) in teenagers, as well as the relationship between these disorders and the student’s academic performance. Therefore, promoting and training the affective strategies based on self-control, techniques increasing attention and improving self-knowledge, can exert a positive effect on the student’s academic performance (Camero, Martín, & Herrero, 2000). Psychology is currently employing meditation under the label mindfulness as an intervention technique or clinical method. Mindfulness has been demonstrated to be effective in a number of medical, psychological and educational problems, so it has captured the attention of psychology and has been included in a wide variety of psychological interventions and therapies, whether explicit or implicit, exclusive or integrated as one more component in a treatment program composed of a multitude of clinical elements or techniques (Baer, 2003; Germer, Siegel, & Fulton, 2005; Hayes & Feldman, 2004; Hayes, Follete, & Linehan, 2004). Mindfulness in contemporary psychology has been adopted as an approach for increasing awareness and responding skilfully to mental processes that contribute to emotional distress and maladaptive behaviours (Bishop et al., 2004). The practice of mindfulness teaches one to approach internal experiences with curiosity and acceptance, which allows for intensive self-observation without judgement, elaboration, or attempts to fix or change the experience. Mindfulness has been described as a process of bringing a certain quality of attention to moment-by-moment experience (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Meditation or mindfulness techniques, have shown their effectiveness in improving psychological discomfort in its various forms of anxiety (Barnes, Treiber, & Davis, 2001; Epply, Abraham, & Shear, 1989; Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992), depression (Teasdale et al., 2000), insomnia (Jacobs, Benson, & Friedman, 1993), and general wellness (Brown & Ryan, 2003). Other effects of meditation related more directly to stress and anxiety are reduced nervousness, worry and emotional discomfort, and increased muscular relaxation and emotional calm (Mañas, Luciano, & Sánchez, 2008; Mañas, Sánchez, & Luciano, 2008). It also diminishes cortisol levels (MacLean et al., 1994; Sudsuang, 1991) and blood lactate (Solberg, Halvorsen, & Holen, 2000), which, among others, are markers of stress and anxiety. Meditation also causes biochemical changes in the brain associated with more positive emotions and improvements in the organism’s immune function (Davidson et al., 2003; Solberg et al., 2000; Solberg, Halvorsen, Sundgot-Borgen, Ingjer, & Holen, 1995). Many 16 International Journal of Knowledge Society Research, 2(1), 14-28, January-March 2011 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. studies have demonstrated an increase in activity in the left frontal lobe which is where positive emotions are stored and managed, at the same time it reduces functioning of the right side (Goleman, 2003; Austin, 1998). It has also been verified that persons who use the left side of the brain eliminate negative emotions and tension in a shorter time, at the same time as emotions such as anger and anxiety are reduced (Brefczynski-Lewis, Lutz, Schaefer, Levinson, & Davidson, 2007; Davidson et al., 2003). The healthy effects of meditation are many and varied (Arias, Steinberg, Banga, & Trestman, 2006; Brown & Ryan, 2003; Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007; Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt, & Walach, 2004). The meditative state is different from relaxation or sleep, because during meditation, alertness increases instead of diminishing (Jevning, 1988; Jevning, Anand, Biedebach, & Fernando, 1996). In fact, meditation has been erroneously confused with a type of relaxation, but the EEG patterns have demonstrated that meditation and relaxation cause different physiological effects, as during meditation the mind is relaxed and aware at the same time (Dunn, Hartigan, & Mikulas, 1999). According to Campagne (2004), while relaxation techniques are based on training in confronting stressful events by controlling the effects of stress, meditation trains in confronting stressful events, and removing their stressful nature, while reducing blood cortisol levels. That is, while relaxation techniques employ willpower and concentration to achieve a state of relaxation, meditation also uses willpower and concentration, not to relax, but to stay alert and lose all notion of thought content, without losing awareness, or mental clarity. One of the characteristics of meditation is the ability to project a single set of signals at the same time, such as breathing or thoughts. This produces changes in the physiological structure of the organism, which at the same time results in a tendency towards normalizing reactions and to more healthy, relaxed physiological behavior. In this way, tension and anxiety are reduced, the heart beat and metabolism are slowed and there is an increase in attention and ability to concentrate (LeShan, 2005). Some studies have found that with practice, meditation is able to train mental activity and processes, strengthening all the cognitive abilities upon acquiring the skill of methodically exercising mental attention and concentration (Jha, Krompinger, & Baime, 2007; Valentine & Sweet, 1999). Meditation increases the ability to focus attention and ignore distractions, and improves cognitive performance in demanding situations, tension and concentration (Solberg, Berglund, Engen, Ekeberg, & Loeb, 1996; Sugiura, 2004), as for example, during an exam. Furthermore, meditation has also been related to improvements in self-concept (Trumbulls & Norris, 1982; Van der Berg & Mulder, 1976). In the sphere of education, mindfulness has also been demonstrated effective in different ways. Barnes, Bauza, and Treiber (2003) used a meditation program with students with classroom behavior problems, and found that their class attendance and school behavior improved. Barragán, Lewis, and Palacio (2007) found that mindfulness intervention in a sample of university students improved their ability to focus and sustain attention, to follow a stimulus closely and to manage distraction. More specifically, meditation has been directly related to increasing and improving academic performance. Chang and Hierbert (1989) showed how primary students significantly improved their schoolwork after mindfulness intervention. Cranson, Orme-Johnson, Gackenbach, Dillbeck, Jones, and Alexander (1991) demonstrated that university students that practiced mindfulness twice a day increased their academic performance. León (2008) found a significant relationship between the levels of mindfulness and academic performance in secondary education students. Finally, Beaucheim, Hutchins, and Patterson (2008) carried out a study in which they applied meditation to a group of 34 students with learning problems and low academic performance, and found that after training, this group significantly improved its academic performance, its social skills and diminished trait anxiety. International Journal of Knowledge Society Research, 2(1), 14-28, January-March 2011 17 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Recently, a mindfulness program called ‘Meditación Fluir’ (Franco, 2007, 2009b) has also been effective in the field of education in different ways. For example, by reducing stress perception in students of teacher education (Franco, 2009b), increasing the verbal creativity levels in a group of high school (Franco, in press), reducing levels of educational stress and of the days taken off work on sick leave, in teachers of obligatory secondary education (Franco & Mañas, 2009), as well as psychological distress (Franco, Mañas, Cangas, Moreno, & Gallego, in press), or by improving the values in a sample of university students (Franco & Navas, in press). However, the efficacy of Meditación Fluir has still not been examined on the variables academic performance, selfconcept and anxiety. To summarize, the literature available seems to indicate that stress and anxiety, as well as self-concept, play a decisive role in academic performance. Furthermore, meditation has been demonstrated to reduce stress and anxiety, at the same time it leads to improved cognitive skills, such as attention, memory and concentration, as well as academic performance. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to examine whether the application of the meditation program Meditación Fluir, which has demonstrated to be effective in the field of education in different ways, could also be effective in improving academic performance and self-concept, and in reducing the levels of anxiety in secondary school students.