Difficult and challenging experiences encountered by pupils during participation in a 10 week classroom based mindfulness informed program

Mindfulness informed interventions are one of a range of programs being used in schools to promote well-being and potentially alleviate the mental health burden of pupils. In adults, there is increasing interest in the occurrence of difficult and challenging experiences in both mindfulness-based and other psychotherapeutic interventions, but evidence is lacking concerning whether or not similar experiences occur for school pupils. This study explored difficult and challenging pupil experiences during participation in the 10 week .b mindfulness course, developed by the Mindfulness in Schools Project. This study utilised ethnographic and case study methodology to explore pupil experience of both course content and structure, as well as deeper phenomenological experience. Positive experiences were also captured and will be published in a separate paper. Four classes in three schools were studied, yielding a total sample of n = 65 pupils, aged between 11 and 15 years, who were observed during the course over a 10 week period. In each class, the researcher recorded their observations of the interactions between the teacher and the pupils and how they engaged with the curriculum content. Lessons were also video recorded for later independent competency rating. Pupils completed journal entries before and after each lesson, detailing their experiences. Finally focus group interviews were conducted half way through the course and following the final session, by a team of interviewers. Pupils in two of the classes were also interviewed individually. In total n = 46 pupils, and all teachers, consented to be interviewed about their experiences of the .b programme. Classroom observation notes, journal entries and interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Emerging themes were refined and explored with reference to difficult and challenging experiences. The superordinate themes identified were ‘Difficult and challenging experiences’, ‘Pupil contexts’, ‘Teacher contexts’, ‘The curriculum’ and ‘School contexts’. Some pupils across all three schools experienced increased awareness of, triggering, or fixation of negative or ‘bad’ thoughts, including difficult memories. In some cases, these had the tendency to linger for a period of time after the practice had finished. Some pupils also described an increased awareness or experience of difficult emotions, such as sadness. In school 1, 5 out of the 15 pupils interviewed (33%) described an increased experience of troubling thoughts or emotions (4 female, 1 male), while in school 2, 1 out of the 5 interviewed (20%) described increased negative thoughts (1 female), and another two (40%) described increased experience of or difficulty in dealing with emotions (1 male, 1 female). In school 3, 3 out of 26 (11.5%) described an increase experience of negative thoughts (3 male). Other difficult pupil experiences included feeling judged, finding mixed effectiveness, finding practices weird or uncomfortable, and having difficulty with certain practices. Pupil contexts included interpretation and misinterpretation of content, and teacher contexts included how the curriculum was framed, and how teachers managed difficulties in their pupils. The content of the curriculum and how this may have contributed to pupil experience, as well as other school contexts, are also discussed. Implications for school based mindfulness informed curriculum are discussed and explored, with particular regard to conceptualising, managing and mitigating difficulties. Comparisons and implications for other school based psychoeducational programs and curricula are also discussed.