• I BREATHE THE WORDS: Childhood Mindfulness in Daily Life, a Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study

    Author(s):
    Joanie Terrizzi (see profile)
    Date:
    2020
    Subject(s):
    Education, Education, Elementary, Psychology
    Item Type:
    Dissertation
    Institution:
    Saybrook University
    Tag(s):
    Elementary education
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/4tnw-vj08
    Abstract:
    Mindfulness, the intentional practice and result of paying attention, on purpose, to one’s moment-by-moment experience, without judgment (Kabat-Zinn, 1994), is a promising adjunct intervention for children addressing a variety of academic, behavioral, psychological, and somatic challenges. This qualitative study explored the child’s lived experience applying mindfulness skills to daily life to address a gap in the research, deepening a collective understanding of children’s lived experiences practicing mindfulness. This study aimed to fill this gap in the literature by exploring the essence of this phenomenon through the text of many children’s experiences. This work answered the research question, “What is the child’s experience of using mindfulness in daily life?” Hermeneutic phenomenology was the methodology for this work as it focused on the lived experience of children and the lens that my unique lived experience as a mindfulness educator and researcher offers. Thus, I hermeneutically analyzed 1,136 quotations from children found in my reflective teaching notes during 2014–2018, before this study’s inception, in response to the question, “How did you use your mindfulness in the last week?” This work offers a literature review that provides a foundational definition, an in-depth exploration of the components of mindfulness, the impact of mindfulness on the brain, developmental theory, trauma and ACEs, mindfulness interventions that take place both in and out of school, the involvement of parents and teachers in students learning mindfulness, awareness and regulation practices, the impact of regular practice, participant benefit, and the impact of self-selective participation. Thematic analysis, largely informed by van Manen’s (1990) work, brought to light findings relevant to these areas.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    3 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
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