Resources

There is an emerging evidence base demonstrating the benefits of mindfulness for people of all ages in domains related to physical and mental health.

Mindfulness practices essentially cultivate attention, including self-awareness and self-knowledge of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and how they affect one’s actions. Such practices are a promising approach to helping educators and students develop self-awareness and self-regulation skills that are associated with success in school and through adulthood.

Additionally, mindfulness skills are complementary to social and emotional learning (SEL), as self-awareness and self-management are among the five core skills of SEL identified by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.

This WestEd brief, developed for the California Department of Education, describes what administrators and teachers can do now to promote the benefits of mindfulness and stress management.