Effects of School-Based Meditation Courses on Self-Reflection, Academic Attention, and Subjective Well-Being in South Korean Middle School Students

• Published in: Journal of pediatric nursing 2020-09, Vol.54, p.e61-e68
• Main Authors: Yun, Mi Ra, Shin, Namin, Kim, Hyeyoung, Jang, In Sook, Ha, Mi Jin, Yu, Boas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic attention; Attention; Humans; Meditation; Middle school students; Nursing; Republic of Korea; School-based meditation courses; Schools; Self-reflection; Students; Subjective well-being
• ISSN: 0882-5963; 1532-8449
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pedn.2020.05.002

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of school-based meditation courses on middle school students' self-reflection, academic attention (ability to focus in classrooms), and subjective well-being. The research design was a nonequivalent group comparison (n = 163) with pretest and post-test. The experimental group (n = 81) was given an eight-week meditation course and the control group (n = 82) was given other elective courses such as calligraphy and reading. The experimental group showed significant increases in self-reflection (t = 2.536, p = .012) and academic attention (t = 2.767, p = .006), but subjective well-being did not increase significantly (t = 0.906, p = .367). Life satisfaction was the only subcomponent of subjective well-being that increased significantly (t = 2.438, p = .016); the other subjective well-being subcomponents did not show any significant changes. Self-reflection and academic attention significantly increased in middle school students after an eight-week meditation course. Even though changes in subjective well-being were not significant, one of its subcomponents (life satisfaction) did show significant improvement. Self-reflection and subjective well-being were shown to be influential factors for academic attention (48.5% of the variance explained). This study is meaningful in that it examined positive benefits of a meditation course in middle school students and explored the feasibility of such a course in a school system. •An 8-week school-based meditation course can benefit middle school students.•The meditation course benefits included increases in self-reflection and academic attention.•Life satisfaction was also increased, although overall subjective well-being did not increase.•Self-reflection and subjective well-being were strongly related to academic attention.