Exploring learners’ experiences of meditative practices: a case study of a primary school.

Abstract

An intriguing phenomenon that appears to be attracting the interest of schools and organisations, and agencies working with behaviour change is the practice of meditation. Given the growing popularity of meditation, I set out to learn about learners’ meditation experiences in primary schools. The purpose of my study was to explore and understand learners' experiences of meditative practices whereby a qualitative approach was used in this research to gain a deep understanding of meditation. This study was located within an interpretive paradigm as it attempted to explore different learners' experiences of meditation. In my study, the population was all grade 6 learners in the school. Letters were sent to the parents of these grade 6 learners, requesting the voluntary participation of their children in the study. The sample consisted of 50 grade 6 learners keen to participate and their parents granted permission for them to participate in the study. Structured interviews were conducted with probing questions. I also made use of a pre-meditation questionnaire and a post meditation questionnaire. The learners displayed positive attitudes and views towards meditation. They found meditation to be beneficial in the reduction of frustration and anger, in the improvement of concentration and academic performance and the reduction of anxiety. Learners had further experienced meditation as having the potential to make one productive. The post-meditation questionnaire confirmed the results obtained in the interviews and the impact of meditation on learners’ lives. The use of meditation appears to have been beneficial to the school in which it was conducted. The learners have reported benefitting from engaging with the process of meditation, especially reporting positive impacts on the life of the learners. Many learners agreed that meditation should be incorporated within the school day. The data suggests that meditation as an educational tool and strategy to assist learners has been positively received and positively impacted many salient aspects of the educational endeavour and personal qualities of learners. Further research will inform the policy and practice on the implementation of meditation to the Department of Education and other educators, which will help them broaden the knowledge about the feasibility and pedagogical value of meditation in schools.