A Critical and Comprehensive Review of Mindfulness in the Early Years

Abstract

This chapter is a comprehensive and critical approach to exploring mindfulness and its presence in early childhood education settings. Three questions are addressed throughout the chapter: (1) What is mindfulness? (2) What purpose does mindfulness serve in early childhood education settings, and what is its connection to school readiness and schoolification? and (3) What are the implications of standardizing and measuring approaches to mindfulness? Mindfulness, as often described to young children, educators, and families, is the practice of paying attention in a very special way. To some degree, it teaches children to build an awareness of oneself, others, and one’s surroundings. However, because mindfulness is a relatively new phenomenon in early childhood education settings, limited research has been conducted regarding its presence in these environments, as well as the implications it may hold for very young children, educators, and families. In order to provide context, I have examined three popular mindfulness programs that have been introduced in a variety of schools nationwide. These programs include mindful awareness practices (MAP), mindful schools (MS) program, and the MindUP curriculum for K-2. So far, very little criticism has been given to the actual purpose of positioning mindfulness in early childhood settings. In taking a critical approach, I posit that mindfulness programs such as those above aim to provide educators with the tools in order to implement a phenomenon known as “school readiness” and “schoolification”. Recommendations are shared in order to aid educators in implementing a more holistic approach to mindfulness.