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Schools

Since 2015 we have partnered with schools and institutions, both public and private. The purpose of these partnerships is to implement meditation/mindfulness as a practice in the classroom.

We want teachers to do at least 5 minutes of meditation / mindfulness each day with their students. Three steps are necessary for the implementation of the project in schools and institutions:

Courses
1

Teachers Training

Our team goes to schools and gives training to all teachers who will start with the project. The basic principles of meditation for adults and for kids are taught by our team.

2

Initiation in Classroom

The first meditations, already in the classroom, are done by members of our team. We spend some time in each room explaining what meditation is and what its benefits are. We will perform several exercises and in the end we will talk and ask questions with all the children.

initiation in classroom
Follow up
3

Follow up

To make sure things are going well, we’ve created follow-up. Regularly we visit the school to make sure everything is going the right way.

Partners

Oeiras Internation School
Oeiras International School
Coruche Municipio
Município de Coruche
Colegio Colibri
Colégio Colibri
Externato Champagnat
Externato Champagnat
Park International School
Park International School
Externato Santa Catarina
Externato Sta. Catarina
Colegio Reggioemilia
Colégio Reggio Emilia
D. Francisco
Instituto D. Francisco Gomes
Redbridge
Redbridge School
Redbridge
Redbridge School
Aaase
AAASE
Aejd
Agr. Escolas João de Deus
Sol dos Pequeninos
Sol dos Pequeninos
Colegio Vilamoura
Col. Interacional de Vilamoura
Deutsche Schule
Escola Alemã
Concelho de Odemira
Concelho de Odemira
Colegio Um Do Li Ta
Colegio Um Dó Li Ta
Arouca
Arouca

Estudos

Benifícios comprovados da meditação

Meditation

PROMOTES PHYSICAL VIGOR | Strengthens the immune system | Increases longevity | Promotes body awareness |
HELP | Learning Difficulties | Depression and Depressive States | Anxiety | Burnout Hypertension | Substance dependence

Cognitive development

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Improves memory | Power the capacity of concentration and focus | Increases attention levels | Increases levels of intrinsic motivation | Promotes greater control of impulsivity | Makes reaction times faster

Socio-Emotional development

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Improves emotional control | Raises levels of happiness | Promotes more satisfying interpersonal relationships | Power Empathy and Compassion | Facilitates emotional identification and differentiation | Reduces stress | Increases resilience in the face of frustration | Power the ability to delay gratification

Behavior Improvement in 6 weeks

In recent years, studies on meditation and mindfulness have grown exponentially, proving the benefits of these practices in a variety of contexts, including education.

To date, one of the largest studies on meditation and mindfulness with children has been held in Oakland in the United States, involving 937 children and 47 teachers from 3 public elementary schools. The study consisted of evaluating the implementation of a program that taught educators the techniques of meditation and mindfulness to apply in the classroom with the students.

The results of this investigation, after only 6 weeks, are really encouraging (see chart).

During this period (6 weeks), children in the “meditation” group practiced only 4 hours – a very short practice time. However, when comparing the results with the “no-meditation” group, there were significant improvements in “attention” and “attendance and participation in classroom activities.

Other longer and more consistent interventions, such as the Small Buddha Project intends to implement, could produce even more benefits.

Draw
Bar Graph

REFERENCES:

• Goleman, D., & Senge, P. (2014). The triple focus: A new approach to education . Florence, MA: More Than Sound.• Greenberg, M. T., & Harris, A. R. (2012). Nurturing mindfulness in children and youth: Current state of research. Child Development Perspectives, 6 , 161–166.
• Greenberg, M. T., Weissberg, R. P., O’Brien, M. U., Zins, J. E., Fredericks, L., & Resnik, H. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional, and academic learning. American Psychologist, 58 , 466–474.
• Kuyken, W., Weare, K., Ukoumunne, O. C., Vicary, R., Motton, N., Burnett, R., Huppert, F. (2013). Effectiveness of the mindfulness in schools programme: Non-randomised controlled feasibility study. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 203 , 126–131. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.113.126649.• Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York, NY: Hyperion.
• Black, D. S. & Fernando, R. (2014). Mindfulness training and classroom behavior among lower-income and ethnic minority elementary school children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23(7), 1242–1246.