Quiet time via transcendental meditation in secondary school pupils with special educational needs: effects on well-being and behaviour

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper describes effects on wellbeing as well as logistical difficulties of implementing regular Quiet Time (QT) via Transcendental Meditation (TM) among mainstream secondary school pupils with special educational needs, age 12–16 measured via a pilot Randomised Control Trial (RCT). Participants were recruited from three mainstreams and one special school for children with autism and randomly allocated to QT (n = 17) or a Carry on as Usual (n = 16) control group. On average, the QT pupils attended only 2.7 meditation sessions per week, far fewer than the 10 sessions per week encouraged, despite TM being well liked. Pupils reported conflicting demands during TM time preventing regular attendance. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed no significant interactions between group and time. Within the QT group, higher attendance was associated with reductions in teacher-rated externalising difficulties, but these effects were mainly driven by the four pupils who attended more than 60% of the QT sessions. The main analysis revealed no significant effect of QT. The need for further feasibility work to establish and test strategies for promoting engagement with meditation strategies in busy secondary school environments is clear.