Student meditation program expands to cover teachers

A meditation program designed to calm school students has been so successful it is being expanded to help stressed Queensland teachers and principals.

The 10-week daily meditation program for primary school students demonstrated that as little as five minutes of meditation per day could significantly reduce stress and anxiety.

Dr Peta Stapleton, a professor and clinical psychologist at Bond University who implemented and studied the program, said several principals requested a tailored version of the meditation program for school leaders after hearing about its success.

The student program indicated meditation could be a powerful tool to improve children's well-being through increased happiness.

The 10-week mindfulness program was conducted by a meditation expert for 552 children aged 4–8 and 287 children aged 9–12. 

“Results for the 4–8 years group showed daily meditation of five minutes predicted an increase in happiness and self-reported school performance, and a decrease in emotional and behavioural difficulties,” Dr Stapleton said.

“In the 9–11 years group, seven minutes of meditation predicted an increase in emotional awareness and a decrease in emotional and behavioural difficulties as measured by scores from baseline to post-intervention.”

There is growing awareness about the high prevalence of psychological distress among school children, with the National Mental Health Commission identifying it as one of the biggest challenges facing schools.

But teachers also face significant stress and anxiety in their roles, which can affect their well-being and job performance.

 “We weren’t looking at expanding (the program) but the demand from education sector was strong,” Dr Stapleton said.

She said she plans to produce stress-reduction videos to roll out to 50 principals and senior teachers in a new study.

“Hopefully they will walk away with useful strategies,” Dr Stapleton said.

“We don’t have a magic wand to wave but we are confident this is a good start.”

The videos will include instruction on Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT or ‘tapping’) and tips for improving sleep.

EFT is a brief, self-applied stress-reduction technique involving physical stimulation of acupuncture points. 

Dr Stapleton said hoped the meditation study with educators could help stem the loss of teachers from the profession due to stress and mounting workloads.

“We’re seeing a clear drift away from the status of teaching being something to aspire to, and the fade in students targeting university studies,” she said.