Contemplation in The Classroom: A New Direction For Improving Childhood Education

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Contemplation in the Classroom: a New Direction for Improving Childhood

Education
Article in Educational Psychology Review · March 2014

DOI: 10.1007/s10648-014-9265-3
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Educ Psychol Rev (2015) 27:1–30
DOI 10.1007/s10648-014-9265-3
ESSAY
Contemplation in the Classroom: a New Direction

for Improving Childhood Education
Shauna L. Shapiro & Kristen E. Lyons & Richard C. Miller &

Britta Butler & Cassandra Vieten & Philip David Zelazo
Published online: 14 May 2014

# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract Research with adults suggests that contemplative practices such as meditation and
yoga impart a variety of benefits, from improved attention to reduced stress. Increasingly, these
practices are being adapted for use with children and introduced into childhood education in
order to foster the development of key self-regulation skills required for academic achievement
and emotional well-being. This article reviews empirical evidence that supports the introduc-
tion of contemplative practices into childhood education. Directions for future research are
discussed.
Keywords Self-regulation . Attention training . Mindfulness . Yoga . Learning
The development of self-regulation, which refers broadly to the goal-directed modulation of

thought, action, and emotion, has received considerable attention in recent years in large part
because it is associated with important developmental outcomes. Evidence suggests, for
example, that self-regulation measured in preschool predicts school readiness in kindergarten
(e.g., Blair and Razza 2007; McClelland et al. 2007) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores
in adolescence (e.g., Eigsti et al. 2006). Furthermore, self-regulation in childhood predicts
substance dependence, socioeconomic status, and the likelihood of a criminal conviction at age
32 years, after controlling for social class of origin and IQ (Moffitt et al. 2011). Impairments in
self-regulation are a prominent feature of numerous clinical conditions with childhood onset,
S. L. Shapiro (*)
Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95003, USA
e-mail: slshapiro@scu.edu
K. E. Lyons : P. D. Zelazo (*)

Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
e-mail: zelazo@umn.edu
R. C. Miller : B. Butler
Integrative Restoration Institute, San Rafael, CA, USA
C. Vieten
Institute of Noetic Sciences and California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco, CA,
USA
2 Educ Psychol Rev (2015) 27:1–30
including Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, and autism

(e.g., Barkley 1997; Hughes and Ensor 2011; Ozonoff et al. 1991).
Research on the importance of self-regulation for children’s development, together with
major advances in our understanding of neural plasticity (e.g., Huttenlocher 2002), has
encouraged efforts to improve self-regulation by “training the brain” (Bryck and Fisher
2012) through a variety of means. Empirical evidence demonstrates that self-regulation
training results in behavioral improvements as well as corresponding changes in neural
function. For example, Rueda et al. (2005) used computerized games to train basic attention
skills in 4- and 6-year olds and observed improved performance on a computerized attention
task after 5 weeks of training. Children in the training condition also showed improvement on
a measure of general intelligence and displayed more adult-like patterns in a component of the
event-related potential (the N2) located over frontoparietal and prefrontal areas.
A great deal of research on efforts to train self-regulation has been conducted (see Diamond
and Lee 2011; Duckworth et al. 2011; Jaeggi et al. 2011). Childhood is a period of rapid
growth of prefrontal cortex and prefrontal cortical function during which self-regulation may
be relatively malleable. Boosting children’s self-regulation may initiate a cascade of benefits in
which children become less likely to be disruptive, more likely to form positive relationships
with teachers and peers, and more motivated and better able to learn.
One category of interventions designed to improve self-regulation is based on
contemplative practices, such as meditation and yoga. Contemplative practices adapted
for use with children are now being introduced widely into preschool and school
contexts in both the United States and Canada (Wisner et al. 2010). Indeed, in the
past decade, there has been an exponential increase in the number of contemplative
programs being made available to children in both early childhood/preschool settings
and in K-12 contexts.
Enthusiasm for these practices is based in large part on research with adults, which has now
demonstrated that contemplative practices can improve aspects of self-regulation, including
attentional control, emotion regulation (Ortner et al. 2007; Walsh and Shapiro 2006), and
perspective taking (Baer 2003; Davidson 2010; Shapiro and Carlson 2009). Emerging re-
search with children and adolescents suggests that these practices may also be beneficial
earlier in development (e.g., Burke 2010; Biegel et al. 2009), although more research is
clearly needed to establish the efficacy of these approaches and examine the possibility of
iatrogenic effects.
The aims of the current paper are to (1) describe key features of contemplative practices
being used with children, (2) to consider how these practices may help to foster self-regulation,
and (3) review emerging research on the feasibility, promise, and (where possible) the efficacy
of these practices. Finally, we offer directions for future research, highlighting the need for
increased methodological rigor, expansion of the scope of outcomes studied (including long-
term follow-ups), and the identification of best practices for integrating contemplation into
educational settings.
What Are Contemplative Practices?
Although contemplative practices have historically been associated with spiritual or religious
traditions, the practices themselves are not inherently religious. Contemplative practices can be
introduced in a secular fashion, as is typically the case in clinical or educational contexts (e.g.,
Baer 2003; Burke 2010; Kabat-Zinn 2003). These practices at their core involve regulation of
attention. In addition, these practices often focus on cultivation of prosocial attitudes and
Educ Psychol Rev (2015) 27:1–30 3
behavior, such as compassion, empathy, and respect for others, and as such, they reflect a
system of values and have moral implications.
The word contemplate is derived from the Latin contemplationem (“the act of looking at”)
or contemplari (“to gaze attentively, to observe”). Contemplative practices involve paying
attention in a purposeful and sustained way to internal experiences (e.g., one’s thoughts,
sensations, or breath) or external perceptions (e.g., the sound of a bell, an image, or other
people). For example, common techniques involve focusing on one’s breathing as an anchor to
the present moment or attending to the thoughts and perceptions that come to mind in one’s
stream of consciousness. Regulation of attention is core to contemplative practice, but beyond
simply attention regulation, there is also an intention to infuse the attention with attitudes of
openness, acceptance, and interest (Shapiro et al. 2006).
Contemplation is often practiced in the context of formal sitting, standing, or walking
meditations. However, one may also practice contemplation by focusing on a specific object,
spending time in silence or in nature, and engaging in art or other activities. The contemplative
component of contemplative practice can therefore be understood as intentional and structured
means of investigating and relating to one’s experiences.
The practice aspect of contemplative practice entails, by definition, repeatedly engaging in
contemplation. Repetition of mental and physical activity alters neurocircuitry, strengthening
the synaptic connections that are used and reducing the strength of less frequently used
connections (Stiles 2008). As a result, mental training (including contemplative practice)
may increase the ease of engaging in the practiced behavior while decreasing the prepotency
of nonpracticed behaviors that have the potential to interfere with that behavior (Slagter et al.
2011).
From the perspective of developmental neuroscience, age-appropriate contemplative exer-
cises may be conceptualized as a neural training regime—targeting core self-regulatory skills
that are important for problem-solving success in the classroom and in daily life and helping to
create the neural networks that support those fundamental skills (Zelazo and Lyons 2012). A
key feature of many contemplative exercises is that they encourage sustained reflection on
one’s subjective experiences. Exercising the neural circuitry involved in reflection would be
expected to increase the efficiency of that circuitry and produce a corresponding increase in the
likelihood and ease with which children engage in reflection prior to acting. For these reasons,
repeated practice in observing with open acceptance moment-to-moment experiences may
reduce the tendency to respond automatically, impulsively, and reactively (e.g., with emotional
responses or impulsive thoughts or actions). Likewise, repeated practice sustaining attention
for longer and longer periods should increase the efficiency of the neural circuits involved in
sustained attention, leading to an increase in the duration of time that a child can maintain
focus before becoming distracted.
Contemplation in the Classroom
Contemplative practices taught to adults tend to be attentionally demanding and require

relatively mature cognitive skills. Therefore, an important initial question concerns the feasi-
bility of adapting these exercises for use with children. In recent years, a number of studies
have investigated this issue, and Table 1 describes several prominent contemplative programs
that have been used with children and adolescents, including iRest for Kids, Inner Kids,
Mindful Schools, MindUp, Learning to Breathe, the Mindfulness in Schools Project, the Inner
Resilience Program, Sfat Hakeshev, Still Quiet Place, Stressed Teens, Wellness Works in
Schools, Little Flower Yoga, Yoga for Classrooms, and the Attention Academy Program.
Children’s lessons in all of these programs typically include a variety of short formal
meditation exercises interspersed with activities designed to foster self-reflection (e.g., reflec-
tion on one’s breathing, sensations, emotions, or thoughts) and observation of one’s surround-
ings (e.g., awareness of others and awareness of stimuli in the environment). These lessons are
typically led by instructors who themselves have an ongoing contemplative practice.
Compared with adult exercises, contemplative practices for children are usually much briefer.
For example, sitting meditation activities may last only a few minutes for young children,
compared with 45 min or an hour for adults (Saltzman and Goldin 2008).
Props may also be used to scaffold young children’s attention. For example, to help children
focus on their breathing, preschoolers may be asked to lie on the floor with a stuffed animal on
their abdomens, and observe it rise and fall with their breathing (Kaiser-Greenland 2010).
Alternatively, children may be invited to take deep full breaths that allow their entire ribcage to
expand and contract in all directions while holding a Hoberman sphere that also expands and
contracts, and synchronizing its movements with each of their breaths (Miller et al. 2011).
Another example involves training attention through listening: children are invited to listen to
the sound of a bell fade until they can no longer hear it.
Activities may also be illustrated through the use of narratives and/or concrete metaphors.
For example, in the iRest for Kids program (Miller et al. 2011), children are first read the story
The Princess and the Pea. Next, they are invited to lie down with or without eyes closed while
a cold pea is placed in the palm of their hand. Then they are asked questions to probe their
sensory awareness (e.g., “I wonder if you can you be as sensitive as the princess? As I place
the pea in your hand what do you notice? Is it warm or cold… heavy or light?). The use of
props, narratives, and concrete metaphors may help children attend to internal sensations,
thoughts, or feelings that may otherwise be too abstract or fleeting for them to notice.
Indeed, children (and adults) often find it difficult to reflect consciously on what James
called the “stream of consciousness” (Flavell et al. 1995, 2000). However, emerging findings
suggest that children may be able to monitor more concrete or salient subjective experiences,
such as sensory perceptions (Lyons and Ghetti 2010). Many contemplative activities for
children capitalize on this, directing children’s attention towards their somatosensory percep-
tions. For example, children might practice mindful eating, purposefully and intentionally
paying attention to all aspects of the experience of eating a raisin—its color, texture, temper-
ature, and taste (Kaiser-Greenland 2010). Such activities may provide children with an avenue
into monitoring more abstract cognitive experiences, such as emotions or thoughts. For
example, after attending to the perceptual features of the food one eats, children are asked to
notice the “colors,” “texture,” or “temperature” of their emotions (Miller et al. 2011).
Potential Benefits of Contemplative Education in Childhood
Traditionally, curricula for young children have been designed mainly to promote rudimentary
academic skills, such as literacy and math. Newer approaches to pedagogy have recognized the
importance of more fundamental self-regulation skills, including social and emotional skills
(e.g., Bierman et al. 2008) and executive function (Diamond and Lee 2011). Self-regulation
skills make it possible for children to adapt to new challenges and solve problems—both
within the classroom and outside of it. For example, to learn effectively in a classroom setting,
children need to be able to sit still, pay attention, follow rules, and avoid disruptive behavior
(e.g., McClelland et al. 2007). In the course of contemplative activities, children practice many
of these key self-regulation skills, repeatedly and in ways designed to encourage skill building
(e.g., by paying attention for longer and longer periods of time). Exercising these skills may be
Table 1 Contemplative practice programs in childhood education
Program Age groups A brief description of the A brief description of Who leads the Targeted outcomes (what Any published research
targeted program and the how the program is curriculum; are special are the goals of the findings or previously
(years or contemplative implemented (is it a teachers needed or is program?) reported effects
grades) background it is rooted in curriculum to be special training needed
implemented in a set for teachers to implement
order? Suggested it?
activities to be integrated
into the classroom, etc.)
iRest for Kids® Pre-K to Integrative restoration The iRest curriculum is Schoolteachers can iRest aim to support the Preliminary research
(http://www.irest. 12th (iRest) is a 10-step designed to be receive specialized healthy growth of the indicates that iRest is
us/irestforkids) grade contemplative practice, delivered to either training in how to whole child through helpful in alleviating
which utilizes hands individuals or groups; integrate iRest the development of symptoms of PTSD,
on developmentally implemented either as components into emotional and insomnia, anxiety,
appropriate activities an “on the go” everyday classroom cognitive intelligence chronic pain,
designed to teach kids program integrated activities. Certified and an internalized depression, and
skills aligned with their into everyday iRest Teachers® are locus of control, chemical dependency
level of emotional and classroom activities, or trained to deliver the through structured in adolescents and
cognitive develop- as a discrete program iRest program as an activities that adults. iRest trained
ment. iRest assists kids that can be taught in after- or during-school encourage divergent teachers are delivering
in experiencing a sense daily, weekly, or even specialized program thinking, and iRest to active duty
of mastery when en- monthly segments emotional and military and combat
countering challenging cognitive flexibility. veterans, chronic pain
situations and an inner iRest tries to enhance a sufferers, the homeless,
sense of ease and well- child’s ability to sense the incarcerated, health
being that pervades their interior and care givers, youth,
their everyday life external world through kids, and other special
awareness of their interest groups.
physical body Research literature and
sensations thereby posters on iRest can be
promoting self- found at www.irest.us/
awareness, control, programs/irest-
mastery, esteem, regu- research-and-
lation, the capacity to programs/
respond rather than
5
6
Table 1 (continued)
react to internal and

external experiences,
and the ability to man-
age stress. In addition,
awareness activities are
designed to promote a
child’s sense of indi-
viduation, along with
peacefulness, equa-
nimity, empathy, for-
giveness, patience, and
loving kindness toward
self and other
Still Quiet Place Pre-K to Still Quiet Place offers Depending upon setting, Still Quiet Place courses, The primary intention of Research has shown that
(http://www. 12th customized sessions are delivered workshops, and the course is to offer children learning
stillquietplace. grade curriculums for the in 45-to 90-min seg- presentations are children an experience mindfulness in the Still
com/) populations it serves. ments taught over taught by Dr. Amy of a Still Quiet Place Quiet Place program
Participants find their 8 weeks. Mindfulness Saltzman and to teach them how show significant
inner, still quite place practices include to use mindfulness in improvements in
through mindfulness awareness of: breath, their daily lives to orienting attention, and
practices, which body, thoughts, feel- respond rather than significant reductions
consist of both formal ings, loving kindness, react to everyday in state anxiety.
and informal practices. easting, walking, yoga, events Narratives show that
Additional in-class and mindfulness in daily children improved self-
home exercises (CDs life, and responding vs. regulation, social com-
and monitoring sheets) reacting. A typical petence and
Table 1 (continued)
encourage ongoing session consists of a compassion (Saltzman

practice mindfulness practice, and Goldin 2008)
discussion of the prac-
tice, movement and
stretching, the applica-
tion of mindfulness as
response to upset, and
cultivating joy, and re-
view of home practice
Little Flower Yoga Pre-K to Little Flower Yoga The core curriculum is Teachers are certified Little Flower Yoga aims No scientific research
(http://www. 12th specializes in creating based on a 5-unit, 30- yoga instructors and to ensure that children published as of yet. For
littlefloweryoga. grade unique and engaging week program that can who have completed a have fun and are not a description of the
com) classes that develop be implemented both 135-h Little Flower forced to participate. program, see Harper
students’ mental, during and after Yoga teacher training. The program provides (2010)
physical, and school. Units progress The training provides tools to develop self-
emotional wellness. from emphasis on the extensive information awareness, and en-
Education and youth individual to aware- about compassionate hance the physical,
development practices ness of the community. but effective classroom mental and emotional
are incorporated into Each session of the and behavior manage- health and well-being
classes, and program incorporates 5 ment strategies of students. An envi-
customized yoga key elements: connect, ronment of support and
programs are designed, breathe, move, focus, encouragement is cre-
which empower and relax. Within these ated where children
students to make elements, students are can feel safe and
healthy choices. The taught fundamental life respected, have the
work of Little Yoga skills that they can
7
8
Table 1 (continued)
Flower is rooted in the immediately use in freedom to experiment

desire to see all their daily life. Classes with new ideas
children embrace their utilize mindfulness
potential, and to help practice, breath regula-
children live their lives tion, yoga postures,
with joy, secure in the concentration, focusing
knowledge that the exercises, and a period
world holds great of rest
wonders for them and
that they have great
gifts to share with the
world
Attention Academy Kindergarten The Attention Academy® AAP consists of 12, 45- AAP is taught by trained The mission of The Results from 3 measures
Program (AAP) (http:// to 12th Program offers classes, min sessions delivered professionals Attention Academy® of attention (ADD-H
stressbeaters.com/? grade workshops, and over 24 weeks, which experienced in Program is to help Comprehensive
page_id=159) seminars on include discussion on mindfulness practice students improve Teacher Rating Scale,
developing attention mindfulness, sitting, and teaching quality of life through Test of Everyday
skills for students, yoga and movement, the practice of Attention for Children,
teachers, and parents breathing and body- mindfulness. The goal Test Anxiety Scale)
through the utilization scan meditations, re- of the program is to administered to stu-
of mindfulness laxation exercises, and help students learn to dents showed signifi-
practice. AAP is an sensorimotor aware- (1) increase their atten- cant differences in
educational program ness activities, such as tion to their present scores between those
within The Scottsdale aromatherapy experience, (2) ap- who did and did not
Institute for Health and proach each experience participate in AAP
Medicine Inc. without judgment, and mindfulness training.
Table 1 (continued)
(3) view each experi- Reductions in test anx-

ence as novel and new iety, improvements in
with a “beginner’s teacher-rated attention,
eye” social skills, and ob-
jective measures of se-
lective attention were
also shown by AAP
participants (Napoli
et al. 2005)
Inner Kids (http://www. Pre-K to Inner Kids emphasizes Sessions divided into 3: Inner Kids classes are led Inner Kids uses a general Inner Kids taught in 1 or
susankaisergreenland. 12th “The New beginning and ending by Susan Kaiser formula of play, more classrooms in
com/inner-kids.html) grade ABCs”—attention, sections contain Greenland, JD followed by Los Angeles, CA,
balance, and introspective practice. introspection, and then schools, every year,
compassion to The middle section sharing intended to between 2000 and
develop: (1) awareness includes games and help children: (1) better 2009, and adapted in
of inner experience activities that teach the understand their intro- Singapore for children
(thoughts, emotions, theme for that week’s spective experience; ages 8–12 years. It was
and physical sensa- class. Children (pre-k (2) relate it their daily also adapted for a
tions); (2) awareness of through 3rd) meet lives; and (3) under- mindful eating study at
outer experience (peo- twice a week for 0.5 h stand the importance of UCSF in connection
ple, places, and sessions for 8 weeks. helping within their with an MB-EAT clin-
things); and (3) aware- Older children meet families, community ical intervention for
ness of both together once a week approxi- service, and communi- overweight children
without blending the 2 mately 45 min for 10– ty action and a caregiver. A
12 weeks. school-based Inner
Kids program was
9
10
Table 1 (continued)
Implemented during evaluated in a random-

school, after school, ized control study
and at camps where teacher and par-
ent reports of executive
function (EF) indicated
an interaction between
baseline EF score and
group status on posttest
EF. Children starting
out with poor EF who
went through the
mindful awareness
training showed gains
in behavioral regula-
tion, metacognition,
and overall global ex-
ecutive control (Flook
et al. 2010)
stressed teens; Middle Stressed Teens is a MBSR-T groups meet for The Stressed Teens MBSR-T aims to help In a randomized study of
mindfulness-based school Mindfulness-Based 1.5 h/week for program is taught by teens reduce psychiatric adolescent
stress reduction for teens and high Stress Reduction for 8 weeks without the trained instructors rumination, “distorted” outpatients, teens
(MBSR-T) Program school Teens (MBSR-T) pro- retreat component in experienced in thinking, worries, receiving MBSR self-
(http://www. gram closely related to typical MBSR. The mindfulness practice negative self-talk, reported reduced symp-
stressedteens.com/) the traditional MBSR program can be and teaching judgments, and in- toms of anxiety, depres-
program created by adapted from the group crease letting go, em- sion, and somatic dis-
Kabat-Zinn and format to in and after pathy, patience, being tress, and increased self-
Table 1 (continued)
colleagues. The school sessions and with what is, and esteem and sleep quality.
MBSR-T program is varying time periods. kindness toward self Of clinical significance,
meant to be a program Specific practices and others. Teens often the MBSR group
to use with adolescents include body scan, benefit from activities showed a higher per-
(vs. the traditional walking meditation, that focus on noticing centage of diagnostic
MBSR program, de- sitting meditation, and awareness of self- improvement over the 5-
signed for use with sitting meditation with other judgments, month study period and
adults); formal prac- heartfulness, yoga, worries, things out of significant increases in
tices are shorter in du- mindful stopping, one’s control, and pain global assessment of
ration to accommodate mindful homework/test and suffering. Many functioning scores rela-
the attention span of taking. Additional em- mental health difficul- tive to controls, as rated
adolescents and lan- phasis on mindful ties arise from these by condition-naive clini-
guage, references and qualities of living, in- aforementioned cians (Biegel et al.
stories that are relevant formal practice and thoughts 2009). MBSR-T treated
to them are used. developing an aware- adolescents have shown
Stressed Teens teaches ness of one’s thoughts increases in Mindful At-
mindfulness skills and tention Awareness
provides tools for those Scale—Adolescent
in their pre-teen years (MAAS–A) scores and
through latter adoles- were significantly relat-
cence. Stressed Teens ed to beneficial changes
takes a mind–body ap- in numerous mental
proach and focuses on health indicators. Other
the whole person. As active research projects
teens often have diffi- include collaboration
culty with their social with: Georgetown
11
12
Table 1 (continued)
skills, emotions, confi- University Medical

dence, procrastination, School to adapt MBSR-
impulsivity and atten- T for adolescents with
tion, Stressed Teens cancer, Stanford
seeks to improve a University’s Department
teen’s functioning and of Psychiatry using brain
quality of living so- imaging to assess the
cially, physically and neural correlates of
psychologically MBSR-T with adoles-
cent females with de-
pression, using MBSR-
T in association with
SRI International
conducting a study of a
Positive Youth Develop-
ment (PYD) High
School Program in Palo
Alto, California
Wellness Works in Elementary The Wellness Works in The program is The program’s creators This program targets In an observational study
Schools™ to 12th Schools program is an implemented in a offer 2 workshops for mental well-being it was found that
(http://www. grade evidence-based pro- series of lessons teachers: an (e.g., teaching students Wellness Works in the
wellnessworksinschools. gram designed to pro- (typically 8 to 15 introduction to mindful how to handle chal- Schools showed
com) mote health and well- sessions, lasting about awareness to help them lenging emotions, and positive effects on
ness. The program is 45 min each). Lessons manage their own to strengthen positive student cognitive,
heavily based on the are modified based on stress in the classroom emotions such as hope physical, and social
principles of grade level and and a teacher training and courage), behavior. Further study
Table 1 (continued)
mindfulness and readiness of the program to help them resiliency, impulse on an urban, low
mindfulness-based students. Lessons implement the control, stress reduc- income, middle-school
stress reduction. The focus on emotions, practices in the tion, and mindfulness student population
program takes a whole intentions, personal classroom skills indicated a significant
person focus to help goals, resiliency, and effect for the treat-
students manage the problem-solving skills. ment group in the
challenges of school, Lessons can be used ability to shift, 1 of 8
family, work, and with typical and atypi- domains scored in a
community in a cal populations (e.g., test of cognitive and
healthy and balanced children with autism or behavioral regulation.
way in special education Treatment scores
programs). The activi- showed a positive
ties in the lessons in- trend in improvement
clude discussion of se- of the overall scores
lected mind–body on the Metacognition
health and wellness Index and Global
topics, practicing Executive Composite
mindfulness skills, of the Behavior Rat-
breathing exercises, ing Inventory of Ex-
and mindful move- ecutive Function
ments (BRIEF). Both stud-
ies are internal pro-
jects not yet peer-
reviewed
13
14
Table 1 (continued)
Yoga 4 Classrooms® Elementary Yoga 4 Classrooms® is a Teachers and students are Y4C is taught by trained The goal of Y4C is to Yoga 4 Classrooms has
(Y4C) (http://www. school tool designed to led in 30 min, in- instructors. Y4C create peaceful, partnered with a
yoga4classrooms.com) facilitate students’ classroom Y4C® ses- requires that instructors learning-ready, pro- University of
physical, mental, sions, once per week be trained via training ductive classroom en- Massachusetts-Lowell
emotional, social, and for 10 weeks. Y4C® intensives (2–3 days). vironment. The pro- Department of Exer-
personal growth. features 67 yoga and Eligibility for the gram works to improve cise Physiology re-
Grounded in evidence- mindfulness-based ac- training typically students’ focus and search team to conduct
based classroom peda- tivities, divided into 6 requires 200 h. adult readiness to learn, a research study to de-
gogies, developmental categories: Let’s yoga certification while positively termine the effects of a
science, cross-sectional Breathe, At Your Desk, transforming the classroom yoga and
research in cognitive Stand Strong, Loosen school culture. Y4C is mindfulness program
affective neuroscience, Up, Imagination Vaca- designed to help stu- on academic perfor-
tenets of positive psy- tion, and Be Well. Ac- dents ease anxiety, im- mance, mood and be-
chology and secular tivities include illus- prove listening skills, havior, attention/focus,
contemplative prac- trated instructions, dis- improve posture, and stress, and immune
tices, Y4C’s mission is cussion points, confidence function. After Y4C
to transform educa- subactivities, and edu- completion, reported
tional environments cational tie-ins. Y4C® improvements includ-
through yoga-based includes yoga postures, ed attention span, abil-
wellness training and movements, breath ex- ity to stay on task,
support ercises, visualizations, focus/ability to con-
mindfulness activities, centrate, respect for
creative movement, self/others, ability to
and community- adjust attitude, ability
building games to deal with stress/
anxiety, and emotional
Table 1 (continued)
well-being (Coulumbe
et al. 2011)
Inner Resilience Program K–8th grade The Inner Resilience IRP emphasizes The Building Resilience Students develop social, IRP has served over 5,000
(IRP) (http://www. and Program’s mission is to mindfulness training in from the Inside Out emotional and inner school staff, 2,000
innerresilience- teachers cultivate the inner lives educators and course involves a 10-h life skills such as parents and over
tidescenter.org) and staff of students, teachers, administrative staff to training and follow-up calming themselves 10,000 students since
at all and schools by create an optimal staff development when upset, relaxing 2002. In a randomized
levels integrating social and environment for the visits to each individu- their bodies and minds, trial, teachers in the
emotional learning school as a whole. al classroom of the and enhancing their treatment group
(SEL) with contempla- Building Resilience teachers trained. IRP attention skills. experienced reduced
tive practice. The from the Inside Out is also includes weekend Intended outcomes are stress levels, increased
Building Resilience based on the book residential retreats for include increased self- levels of attention and
from the Inside Out Building Emotional school staff, profes- awareness, relaxation, mindfulness, and
curriculum uses mind- Intelligence: sional development improved concentra- greater perceived
fulness as its core Techniques to workshops, individual tion stress coping, and relational trust with
teaching. Self- Cultivate Inner stress reduction ses- improved communica- their colleagues. Third-
regulation, care for Strength in Children sions, and parent tion between adults grade students of treat-
others, and attention (Lantieri 2008). Tech- workshops at school and children, and im- ment teachers per-
skills are taught with niques including pro- sites proved classroom ceived that they had
the aim of creating an gressive muscle relax- management and more autonomy and
optimal classroom en- ation and mindfulness classroom climate influence in their clas-
vironment practices and exercises. ses at the end of the
The curriculum in- school year, as well as
cludes a CD of guided lower frustration levels
practices for use in the (Metis Associates
classroom 2011)
15
16
Table 1 (continued)
Mindfulness in Schools Ages14– The Mindfulness in The in-classroom pro- MiSP offers training to The core aims of the In a study of adolescent
Project (MiSP) (http:// 18 years Schools Project gram of the MiSP cur- people who have program are: to raise boys, intervention and
mindfulnessinschools. (MiSP) is a nonprofit riculum is a 9-week completed at least 1 awareness of control groups (N=
org/) organization whose course that teaches MBCT or MBSR mindfulness, to 155) were compared
aim is to encourage, MBSR/MBCT program, and have an experience greater on measures of
support, and research methods in a manner established well-being, e.g., feel mindfulness, resilience
the teaching of secular appropriate for adoles- mindfulness practice. happier, calmer, and and psychological
mindfulness in cents. The program The teacher training more fulfilled, to prac- well-being. While dif-
schools. It works in teaches breathing includes teaching tice a toolkit for man- ferences between
collaboration with the mindfulness, mindful materials and ongoing aging stress and anxi- groups were not sig-
Oxford Mindfulness eating, mindful move- support ety, to work with diffi- nificant, within the
Centre and the Well- ment, body scan, cult mental states such mindfulness group
being Institute of mindfulness of thought as ruminative or anx- there was a significant
Cambridge University and sound, minutes of ious thought and low positive association
silence, and mindful moods, and to support between the amount of
texting better concentration individual practice
and focus outside the classroom
and improvement in
psychological well-
being and mindfulness.
Improvements in well-
being were related to
personality variables
(agreeableness and
emotional stability).
The majority of
Table 1 (continued)
students enjoyed the

program, and 74 %
said they would like to
continue with it
(Huppert and Johnson
2010)
Mindful Schools (http:// K to 12th Mindful Schools works to The in-classroom Mindful Educators may be trained The in-school program As of March 2012,
www.mindfulschools. grade integrate mindfulness Schools program is through a mindfulness aims to improve con- Mindful Schools has
org) into education by delivered in 15 ses- fundamentals course, a centration, attention, served over 18,000
teaching children how sions, each 15 min in curriculum course, and and empathy among students and 750
to focus, manage their length over 5 to conferences. Mindful students while building teachers in 53 schools,
emotions, handle their 8 weeks. Lessons in- schools has trained a climate of calmness 70 % serving
stress, and resolve clude mindfulness of 1,500 educators to date in the classroom. predominantly at-risk
conflicts. Mindfulness sound, breath, body, youth. In a pilot study
is the core of the emotions, test taking, on 79 2nd and 3rd
program, which generosity, apprecia- graders in a low-
intends to teach tion, kindness and car- income school, chil-
children to make wiser ing, and others dren demonstrated im-
decisions in the heat of provements on social
the moment, rather skills and a computer-
than only in retrospect ized attention test
(ANT-C) after com-
pleting the Mindful
Schools program, and
sustained results
17
18
Table 1 (continued)
3 months later (Liehr

and Diaz 2010)
Quiet Time (http://www. Grades 5–12 Quiet Time is a school- During Quiet Time, the Quiet Time was launched Preliminary results of CWAE serves more than
cwae.org/index.php) wide program that students have the at San Francisco’s Quiet Time are 2,000 youth and 400
provides students 2 option to meditate or Visitacion Valley increased attendance, teachers and
restful 15-min periods do another quiet, Middle School in decreased suspensions administrators in San
each day to reduce relaxing activity like 2007. Now the and school violence, Francisco, Oakland,
stress and promote life sustained silent program has started at reduced student and Marin. Among the
balance reading. Faculty and 3 other schools in the anxiety and youth served, 98 % are
staff also have the San Francisco district psychological distress, of color and 62 % live
opportunity to learn and more than 10 increased self-esteem, in low-income homes.
and practice meditation additional schools in decreased burnout and The Quiet Time pro-
as a stress management the Bay Area are on a stress in teachers and gram demonstrated
tool to reduce burnout waiting list administrators, in- significant improve-
and improve teacher– creased emotional in- ment in composite
student relationships telligence, and in- STAR test scores in
creased coping ability below or far below ba-
in adults sic students in middle
school (Nidich et al.
2011)
Learning to breathe Adolescents This program is a This program is The program includes a To promote emotion There have been internal
mindfulness-based cur- implemented in a curriculum with regulation, attention, studies but nothing has
riculum for teenagers, group setting (such as instructions so that stress reduction, and to been published
based on the principles in a classroom). There classroom teachers can enable students to
are lesson plans for implement the bring mindfulness to
Table 1 (continued)
of Mindfulness-Based teachers to follow, program. It is strongly their everyday life; to

Stress Reduction including discussion recommended that foster mental health
topics and activities as teachers first have and wellness
well as practice CDs. completed a
There is a short version mindfulness course of
(6 lessons) and a long their own (e.g.,
program (18 lessons). MBSR), before
Home practice teaching the
activities and a CD curriculum to their
supplement in-class own students. The
lessons program’s author offers
training programs to
teachers on how to
implement the
curriculum effectively
Sfat Hakeshev official K to 8th Sfat Hakeshev is Hebrew The program is Not completed yet Targets of the program Accumulated findings
Website n/a; (http:// grade for “The Mindfulness implemented in an include: concentration, over 10 years show a
www.academy Language.” This educational setting. self-image, self- significant influence of
forguidedimagery.com/ program was Students practice awareness, and learn- the intervention on the
annualconference/ developed by the Israel mind–body awareness ing abilities, and stress- children’s descriptions
detailed/page116/ Center for Mind-Body through mindfulness reactivity reduction; of what they have
page116.html) Medicine, with support meditation, guided managing emotions learned and gained, in
from the Israel Minis- imagery, and yoga. In and thoughts with the areas of self-image,
try of Education and particular, the program mindful awareness self-talk, self-
the Israel Psycho Edu- includes practices awareness, improved
cational Services. It is focusing on mindful learning abilities, sense
19
20
Table 1 (continued)
an experiential learning awareness of breath, of control, relaxation,

program that includes a body boundaries, body concentration, reactivi-
combination of prac- sensations, postures ty reduction and deal-
tices including: guided and movements, ing with stress upon
imagery, mindfulness sounds, emotions, and completing the “Sfat
meditation and mindful imagery processes Hakeshev” program
yoga
expected to promote the development of executive function, emotion regulation, and perspec-
tive taking. These, in turn, might be expected to improve functioning in a wide variety of
contexts, including the classroom.
Executive Function
Executive function refers to those influences on self-regulation that are top–down, effortful,
and consciously controlled. Zelazo and colleagues (e.g., Zelazo 2004; Zelazo et al. 2003) have
argued that the development of reflection—the iterative reprocessing of information prior to
responding—is a fundamental function of prefrontal cortex that underlies the development of
particular executive function skills, such as cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and
working memory. Age-appropriate contemplative practices may be particularly useful in
scaffolding the development of executive function because these activities often require
children to turn their attention inward, and engage in sustained, self-reflection on their own
subjective experiences, exercising prefrontal cortical networks and driving their development.
For example, during a mindful smelling game, children may be asked to smell different scents,
notice how each scent smells, and reflect on any memories that each scent evokes (Miller et al.
2011). Practicing reflecting on one’s sensations and one’s thoughts in the contexts of such
games may enhance children’s ability to reflect more deeply on their thoughts in more
cognitively or emotionally demanding contexts, better positioning them to engage a range of
executive function skills.
A growing body of research with adults and older children indicates that executive function
may be improved through contemplative training. Long-term meditation experience is corre-
lated with enhanced attentional control (e.g., Jha et al. 2007; Slagter et al. 2009), and short-
term mindfulness-meditation training has been found to improve performance on a variety of
executive function measures in adults (Chambers et al. 2008; Heeren et al. 2009; Tang et al.
2007; Zeidan et al. 2010; Zylowska et al. 2008).
Research specifically related to children indicates that mindfulness meditation, a form of
contemplative practice which emphasizes intentionally attending to one’s moment-to-moment
experiences, improves executive function in school-age populations. In child and adolescent
psychiatric outpatients, for example, weekly group mindfulness-training sessions have been
found to reduce attention problems (Boegels et al. 2008; Semple et al. 2010; Van der Oord
et al. 2012). In community samples, bimonthly mindfulness-training activities (implemented
over the course of the school year) have been found to improve second and third graders’
ability to sustain their attention (Napoli et al. 2005). Such activities may be especially
beneficial for children with limited executive control skills (Flook et al. 2010).
Consistent with these findings, Johnson et al. (2012) found that a brief mindfulness-training
curriculum (administered in small groups in bi-weekly sessions over the course of 5 weeks)
improved preschool children’s performance on a Flanker task (Rueda et al. 2005), a widely
used measure of selective attention and inhibitory control.
Emotion Regulation
Emotion regulation involves managing the emotions that arise automatically in the context of
important events (Gross 2002; Rubin et al. 1995), including processes that monitor and control
which emotions are experienced when, and how they are expressed (Cole et al. 2004). Emotion
regulation skills are associated with important aspects of social development in young
children, including social competence during peer interactions, and empathy (Eisenberg
et al. 2002; Ramani et al. 2010). In addition, emotion regulation is needed to maintain attention
and motivation in the face of emotional ups and downs (e.g., excitement over an upcoming
event or anger at a classmate over a dispute during recess). Problems with emotion regulation
are associated with poor mental health, as indexed by clinical levels of problem behaviors
(Bierman and Welsh 1997; see also Blair et al. 2004). Emotion regulation has also been linked
to academic achievement (Raver 2004).
A growing body of research with adults, adolescents, and children indicates that emotion
regulation improves as a result of contemplative practice (Davidson 2010; Ortner et al. 2007). For
example, in a randomized design, 7 weeks of mindfulness training attenuated the interfering effect
of negative stimuli on a simple cognitive task (with corresponding reductions in skin conductance
responses to those stimuli), as compared with an active control group trained in relaxation
meditation (Ortner et al. 2007). In adults with social anxiety disorder, an 8-week course on
mindfulness-based stress reduction training (MBSR) was found to produce reductions in self-
reported social anxiety, depression, and rumination. These changes are accompanied by changes in
neural activation that are indicative of more efficient emotion regulation (Goldin and Gross 2010).
Research with children indicates that mindfulness training reduces anxiety in a range of
populations, including adolescent outpatients with psychiatric disorders (Biegel et al. 2009),
inner city children (Semple et al. 2010), and typically developing first, second, and third
graders (Napoli et al. 2005). Mindfulness practice also appears to reduce depressive symptoms
in children and adolescents (Biegel et al. 2009; Liehr and Diaz 2010; Mendelson et al. 2010),
including rumination and intrusive thoughts (Mendelson et al. 2010).
Contemplative exercises in the classroom may help support the development of emotion
regulation by shaping the neural circuitry underlying both automatic and controlled aspects of
emotion regulation. With regard to the former, contemplative practices emphasize nonreactive
awareness of one’s moment-to-moment experiences—experiencing the world in a nonjudgmental
way. As a result, contemplative practices may promote a more balanced approach to one’s daily
life, so that events are less likely to capture one’s attention and elicit an emotional reaction
automatically. In addition, by promoting the capacity to reflect on one’s current thoughts and
emotions, contemplative practice may also afford children a better ability to use their top–down
control skills to consider the multiple options for responding in a given situation, allowing
children to respond flexibly and adaptively in the face of emotional events. Moreover, increasing
children’s capacity to reflect on their emotional experiences through contemplative practices may
repeatedly engage networks involving prefrontal cortex when an emotion-eliciting event occurs,
strengthening the connections between prefrontal cortex and limbic systems and thereby fortify-
ing the neural circuitry that will support emotion regulation throughout the child’s life.
Several contemplative exercises are aimed at helping children manage their emotions in a
positive way by promoting acceptance and understanding of the nuances of emotions. For
example, in the iRest for Kids program, preschool teachers present children with swatches of
fabric or stones that vary in texture and ask them to select the swatch that best matches how
they feel when they experience a particular emotion (e.g., anger). Next, the teacher asks
children to take turns saying where in their body they feel the emotion (e.g., children may say
that when they feel angry they feel it in their throats). By repeating this exercise with a variety
of emotions (e.g., sad, scared, happy, and angry), children become more acute observers of
their emotions, helping them to notice when particular emotions are being experienced, and to
respond volitionally, rather than reactively.
Perspective Taking
A third target of early contemplative training is perspective taking. We use the term perspective
taking in a broad sense, to refer to variety of metacognitive skills, including self-awareness of
one’s own cognitive processes as such, the attribution of mental states to others (i.e., theory of
mind; Wellman and Liu 2004), social perspective taking (i.e., discerning the thoughts and
feelings of others), and flexible shifting between one’s own and others’ perspectives.
Perspective taking in this broad sense is clearly essential for empathy, compassion, and healthy
interpersonal skills.
First, contemplative practices require children to reflect on their own perspectives, as such.
That is, children are provided with practice reflecting on and attending to their own subjective
experiences, as when children are asked to describe their emotional reactions. As children
become increasingly able to reflect on nuances of their ongoing emotions, they may be
challenged to reflect further on their emotions (e.g., “What is the opposite of the emotion
you are currently experiencing? Where do you feel that in your body? What would the texture
of the opposite emotion be?”). They are also asked to switch back and forth between imagining
the original emotion and its opposite, practicing flexible perspective taking (Miller et al. 2011).
Such activities are designed to help children to be more aware of their own subjective
experiences, as such, but they may also have the added benefit of helping children become
aware of what other children may feel in similar situations, which may help cultivate empathy.
Children also learn that other children may not feel the same way they do when they are
experiencing an emotion.
Other contemplative practices focus more directly on social perspective taking. In
the MindUp program, for example, children retell common fairy tale stories from the
perspective of the antagonist (e.g., the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood), thinking
about the feelings that might motivate a character with whom one does not usually
sympathize. By encouraging children to reflect on their own emotions and share them,
and by explicitly addressing alternative perspectives, these practices may be expected
to promote empathy towards self and others, leading to more effective interpersonal
interactions.
Contemplative practices have been found to enhance metacognition in adults (Teasdale
et al. 2002), and practices specifically aimed at encouraging a more decentered perspective on
one’s thoughts and emotions, termed “reperceiving,” have been found to produce a variety of
positive outcomes (Orzech et al. 2009; Teasdale et al. 2002). In a randomized controlled study
with adults (premedical and medical students), for example, Shapiro et al. (1998) found that
compared with a wait-list control group, the meditation group showed increased levels of self-
reported empathy and decreased levels of anxiety and depression. These results held during the
students’ stressful exam period, and the findings were replicated when participants in the wait-
list control group received the meditation intervention. Improvements in empathic concern
have also been observed in counseling students who participated in an 8-week MBSR course,
following a pre-post-test design, compared with a matched control group (Shapiro et al. 2006).
Research on the effects of contemplative practices on perspective taking in children is
limited, however preliminary evidence is encouraging. Johnson et al. (2012), for example,
found that a brief (5-week) course on mindfulness improved preschool children’s theory of
mind understanding (as assessed using Wellman and Liu’s 2004 battery; see also Bierman et al.
2008).
Additional Targets of Early Contemplative Education
There are several other domains that are potential targets of contemplative exercises in the
classroom. Although it is too soon to draw conclusions concerning the potential benefits of
contemplative exercises in these domains, there are theoretical reasons to expect benefits and
there is some empirical evidence suggesting that these areas warrant further investigation.
Below, we briefly review each of these domains: self-compassion, moral development,

creativity, and learning.
Self-Compassion
In addition to training concern for others, contemplative activities in the classroom may
enhance positive regard for oneself. Self-compassion entails being kind toward oneself in
instances of pain or failure rather than being harshly self-critical. It also involves keeping one’s
negative experiences in perspective, and recognizing them as part of a larger set of experiences
that also include positive experiences (Neff 2003). Self-compassion has been found to predict
other positive psychological variables including wisdom, personal initiative, curiosity and
exploration, happiness, optimism, positive affect, and psychological health (Neff 2003).
By promoting children’s ability and propensity to notice their experiences without judging
them, and to observe their ongoing thoughts and emotions without reacting to them, early
contemplative exercises may facilitate the development of self-compassion. Kind feelings
towards oneself and others are also a specific target of certain contemplative exercises for
children. For example, in the friendly wishes activity developed by Kaiser-Greenland, children
practice sending kind thoughts towards a stuffed toy, people they care about, and themselves.
Several studies with adults have found that meditation-based interventions significantly
increase self-compassion in health care professionals (Shapiro et al. 2005) and counseling
psychology students (Shapiro et al. 2006), offering promising evidence that early contempla-
tive activities may promote kindness towards oneself as well as others.
Moral Development
Fostering moral maturity is of great psychological, social, and global significance. Meditative
traditions emphasize the importance of moral development, and regard moral maturity as
integral to contemplative practice. Contemplative practices show promise for enhancing ethical
motivation and behavior via several mechanisms. According to Walsh and Shapiro (2006)
these include sensitizing awareness to the costs of unethical acts (such as guilt in oneself and
pain produced in others), reducing problematic motives and emotions (such as greed and
anger), strengthening morality supporting emotions (such as love and compassion), cultivating
altruism, and enhanced identification with others (p. 237).
Preliminary research supports the suggestion that contemplative practice leads to moral
development. For example, among practitioners of Transcendental Meditation (TM), scores
on scales of moral development correlate with duration of practice, with higher scores
correlating with greater practice (Nidich et al. 1983). In college students, mindfulness-based
practice has been found to lead to improvements in ethical decision-making (Shapiro et al.
2012). Taken together, this preliminary research lends support to the potential of teaching
contemplative practices to children as a way to foster moral development and ethical
decision-making.
Creativity and Learning
Finally, by promoting inquisitiveness and fostering children’s curiosity about their experiences,
contemplative exercises may also amplify children’s tendency to use their top–down attention
and self-control skills in the service of exploring their environments in new and creative ways
(both inside and outside of the classroom). For example, contemplative exercises that prompt
children to describe their emotions in terms of color or texture, or to express their thoughts
through art, may promote ways of thinking about the world that complement more rational and
analytical ways of knowing (Hart 2004). In addition, research indicates that when information
is processed in a deeper, more reflective fashion, it is more likely to be integrated into one’s
knowledge base and retained (Kapur et al. 1994). By practicing being fully engaged in the
present moment (as opposed to distracted by intrusive thoughts) and by promoting inquisi-
tiveness about one’s moment-to-moment experiences, contemplative exercises may help
children to learn in a more active, reflective fashion, and this type of learning is likely to be
more effective than more passive, rote learning (Marcovitch et al. 2008).
Preliminary research with adolescents and young adults suggests that meditation can
cultivate creativity, lending support to the notion that contemplative activities may cultivate
creativity in children. Cowger and Torrance (1982), for example, studied 24 college under-
graduates who were taught Zen meditation and ten who were taught relaxation. The meditators
attained statistically significant gains in creativity as defined by self-reported heightened
consciousness of problems, perceived change, invention, sensory experience, expression of
emotion/feeling, humor, and fantasy. Improvements in creativity as a result of contemplative
training have also been documented in high school and junior high school students (So and
Orme-Johnson 2001), offering further support for the notion that contemplative exercises in
childhood may foster children’s ability to creatively explore and learn from their environments.
Future Directions
Research in the area of contemplative practice and early childhood education is in its infancy.
Creative and rigorous designs are needed to determine how these practices and interventions
will be of greatest benefit to children. Below, we highlight directions for research that will
benefit investigations of contemplative practices for children.
First, it is important to elucidate the specific effects of different contemplative training
exercises, and how these differ developmentally. For example, concentration practices are
thought to foster sustained attention and concentration, increased clarity, and calmness of
mind. By contrast, mindfulness practices are believed to enhance self-insight, self-regulation,
compassion, and wisdom. Understanding the impact of different kinds of contemplative
practice, will not only provide important knowledge that may be used in applied settings but
also provide insight into basic developmental processes underlying age-related changes in such
fundamental skills as self-regulation.
In doing this work, it will be critical to use assessment tools that are age appropriate,
reliable, and valid. To fully understand the effects of contemplative exercises in the classroom,
future research should employ instruments tapping first-person (subjective), second-person
(e.g., peer, parent, or teacher report), and third-person (e.g., behavioral tasks or observations
and electrophysiological measures) outcomes. These assessments should target a broad scope
of outcomes, including not only self-regulation but also interpersonal relationships, ethical
behavior, and creativity and learning. When possible, outcomes should be assessed a year or
more following interventions, to assess whether interventions have lasting effects on
development.
Research on the efficacy of contemplative interventions must balance experimental rigor
with the fact that (true) contemplative practice requires participant “buy in.” By definition one
cannot engage in contemplative practice without an attitude of openness, curiosity, and
acceptance. Therefore, teachers and students who are skeptical of the benefits of contemplative
practice may not fully benefit from such activities. At the same time, teachers and researchers
who are enthusiastic about the potential benefits of contemplative practices must be equally
interested in determining which approaches do NOT yield hypothesized benefits, and adjusting
their curricula and hypotheses accordingly. Randomized controlled designs are the gold
standard in clinical research, and it is essential that research on the benefits of contemplative
training during childhood include active control conditions involving a noncontemplative
program that controls for instructor attention, expectancies regarding outcomes, time commit-
ment, and other elements that provide structural equivalence to the contemplative practice
intervention. Community studies that identify “best practices” for introducing contemplation
into early childhood education classrooms are also necessary, to ensure that such exercises are
implemented in a way that is maximally beneficial.
Finally, future research should investigate the effects of contemplative exercises on teachers
and parents. A growing number of studies have shown that providing teachers with contem-
plative training may yield significant improvements on teachers’ well-being and their class-
room climate, potentially yielding benefits for children, even if children do not directly
participate in such activities. Similarly, engaging parents in contemplative exercises that can
be practiced individually or as a family may also facilitate the development of self-regulation
skills.
Conclusions
Contemplative practices for children are becoming increasingly widespread, and pre-
liminary evidence is encouraging. Preliminary empirical and theoretical evidence
supports the suggestion that introducing contemplative practices into childhood edu-
cation may cultivate healthy patterns of behavior and brain development that are
beneficial to children immediately and throughout their lifetime. Indeed, childhood
may be an especially opportune period to learn contemplative practices because of the
plasticity of relevant brain regions and the potential for cascading consequences of
any salubrious effects, such as a boost in self regulation.
Careful and nuanced consideration of potential pitfalls of introducing contemplative
practices to children must be considered. In addition, determining the most effective
means of cultivating self-regulation is complex. Self-regulation is multifaceted,
encompassing top–down processes (such as selective attention and working memory)
and bottom-up influences that may either impair self-control (e.g., cortisol/stress; e.g.,
Pechtel and Pizzagalli 2010; Sapolsky 1996) or boost it (e.g., dopamine/approach-
oriented emotions such as happiness and curiosity; e.g., Ashby et al. 1999).
Contemplative practices have the potential to address both of these types of process,
training top–down attentional skills while also disrupting the automatic elicitation of
emotional responses (e.g., by stimuli in the environment), resulting in greater calm-
ness and emotional stability (Zelazo and Lyons 2012).
This article represents a beginning step in the conversation exploring the potential
benefits of integrating contemplative practice into childhood education. Our interest is
to establish a foundation upon which further investigations can build, leading to
answers to the questions raised here, as well as to the articulation of new questions.
Future interdisciplinary and multifaceted research investigating the integration of
contemplative practices into early education holds significant potential for children’s
social, emotional, behavioral, and academic well-being, both short and long term.
Ideally, research and practice will inform one another other, developing and refining
contemplative practice interventions that can contribute best to childhood development
and well-being.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the Baumann Institute for providing funding for the
preparation of this article.
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Contemplation in the Classroom: a New Direction for Improving Childhood

Article in Educational Psychology Review · March 2014

Kristen Lyons Cassandra Vieten

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Contemplation in the Classroom: a New Direction

Shauna L. Shapiro & Kristen E. Lyons & Richard C. Miller &

Published online: 14 May 2014

Keywords Self-regulation . Attention training . Mindfulness . Yoga . Learning

The development of self-regulation, which refers broadly to the goal-directed modulation of

K. E. Lyons : P. D. Zelazo (*)

including Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, and autism

What Are Contemplative Practices?

Contemplation in the Classroom

Contemplative practices taught to adults tend to be attentionally demanding and require

Potential Benefits of Contemplative Education in Childhood

react to internal and

encourage ongoing session consists of a compassion (Saltzman

Flower is rooted in the immediately use in freedom to experiment

(3) view each experi- Reductions in test anx-

Implemented during evaluated in a random-

skills, emotions, confi- University Medical

students enjoyed the

3 months later (Liehr

of Mindfulness-Based teachers to follow, program. It is strongly their everyday life; to

an experiential learning awareness of breath, of control, relaxation,

Additional Targets of Early Contemplative Education

Below, we briefly review each of these domains: self-compassion, moral development,

Creativity and Learning

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