Table 2. Characteristics and mindfulness experience of participants within each school.
School pseudonym | Participating staff (gender) | School role of interviewees (I) and focus group members | Participant experience of mindfulness and teaching MT in schools |
---|---|---|---|
Meadow | 14 (seven male, seven female) | Head teacher (I), two deputy head teachers (I), the mindfulness lead (I), and a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) (I) Focus groups included staff who taught across a range of subjects in arts, sciences and humanities |
Four members of staff had no personal experience of mindfulness and at least two were actively skeptical. One member of staff had done a personal 8-week mindfulness course but had not continued to engage actively with mindfulness within the school. The remaining nine participants had done a personal 8-week mindfulness course and then continued to use mindfulness in their personal and professional lives, including informing their interactions with students. However, at the time of the research only the mindfulness lead was formally delivering MT within the school |
Park | Nine (two male, seven female) | Head teacher (I), two deputy head teachers (I) and mindfulness lead (I) Focus groups comprised members of staff who held a range of teaching and pastoral support roles within the school |
All of the staff had attended and introduction to mindfulness session and five had done a personal 8-week mindfulness course. The mindfulness lead was teaching mindfulness to pupils, parents and staff in the school. One other member of staff was trained to deliver MT to pupils but was not doing so at the time of this research |
Lake | Nine (all female) | Head teacher (I), two mindfulness leads (I) The focus group included staff teaching a range of subjects including humanities, sciences and physical education as well as members of pastoral staff |
The two mindfulness leads were trained to teach MT to pupils. The remaining staff had little exposure to MT and had not done personal mindfulness training |
Fields | Eight (all male) | Head teacher (I), mindfulness lead (I) The focus group included staff teaching across the humanities, sciences and physical education |
All members of staff had some exposure to mindfulness through the school culture, all had observed mindfulness practices being taught within the school and a large proportion of overall teaching staff had either done personal 8-week mindfulness course or a taster session. The mindfulness lead and one other member of staff were trained and currently teaching MT to pupils at the school |
Leafy | 27 (20 males, 7 females) | Head teacher (I), three members of the Senior Leadership Team (I) Focus groups included three members of pastoral staff, two members of support staff and a range of teaching staff across the sciences, arts and humanities |
10 staff members had completed a personal 8-week mindfulness course, one had observed a pupil course, one had a personal meditation practice and another attended voluntary drop-in sessions within the school. Two had taught MT to pupils within the school. The majority had some exposure to mindfulness practices as part of the school culture |
Garden | Five (two males, three females) | Head teacher (I), mindfulness lead (I) The focus group included three members of staff who taught across a range of curriculum areas |
The mindfulness lead, and one other teacher had trained to deliver the MT curriculum. Levels of exposure to mindfulness amongst the other three teachers were unclear |
River | Six (three males, three females) | Head teacher (I) Focus groups included teachers across a range of curriculum areas |
Two participants had undertaken some personal mindfulness training and were teaching mindfulness skills as part of the school curriculum, having adapted some published resources. The other four participants had not completed a mindfulness course and did not teach mindfulness in the school |
The schools took part on the basis that they would be anonymized and so are given pseudonyms throughout. Information about participant roles within schools and mindfulness experience is summarized to provide an overview of the characteristics of participants within each focus group, without including information that might be identifying