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Stephanie A. Piotrowski
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Marni J. Binder
Ryerson University
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Jasna Krmpotić Schwind
Ryerson University
Keywords:
well-being, mindfulness, young children, interview, thematic analysis
Abstract
Recent research into mindfulness in education supports introduction of this practice into the classroom. This qualitative descriptive study explored mindfulness with young children, as perceived by their teachers. Four primary teachers were interviewed using open-ended and semi-structured questions, allowing them to share their experiences of implementing mindfulness in their classrooms. Using thematic analysis, we learned that teachers found benefits of including mindfulness into daily classroom routines. However, they felt that more holistic approaches, such as guided breathing, yoga, and lovingkindness meditation, could more fully support childhood well-being.
Author Biographies
Stephanie A. Piotrowski
Stephanie A. Piotrowski completed her Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies at Ryerson University, a Bachelor of Education at University of Ottawa, and a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Studies at Ryerson University, Canada. She is a certified teacher who currently works with policies and programs that affect child care centres across Ontario. Her current research interests include holistic education, therapeutic play, and high quality child care.
Marni J. Binder, Ryerson University
Marni J. Binder is an Associate Professor in The School of Early Childhood Studies, Faculty of Community Services at Ryerson University, in Toronto, Canada. Before coming to Ryerson in 2007, she worked in both the preservice and graduate programs at The Faculty of Education, York University. Marni also worked extensively with primary-aged children, as well as with junior-aged children as an educator in the innercity schools of Toronto for 23 years. Her teaching, research, artistic practice, and publications in the arts, literacy, multimodalities, and spirituality in the lives of young children, are rooted in arts-based education research approaches and a holistic philosophy.
Jasna Krmpotić Schwind, Ryerson University
Jasna Krmpotić Schwind, RN, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Nursing, at Ryerson University. Her arts-informed narrative inquiry research focuses on reconstruction of experience of personal and professional self within professional and therapeutic relationships in education and practice. Using the Narrative Reflective Process tool, she explores humanness-of-care, defined as mindful presence with persons in our care. This requires mindful awareness with nonjudgmental acceptance of self and others in the present moment. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Schwind has attended workshops, retreats, and classes on various mindfulness practices, some of which she includes with her students in teaching-learning situations.
