“I feel proud we are moving forward”: safeguarding mindfulness for vulnerable student and teacher wellbeing in a community college
| Pages | 33-46 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-08-2016-0015 |
| Date | 13 February 2017 |
| Published date | 13 February 2017 |
| Author | Leigh Burrows |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Adult protection,Safeguarding,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Abuse |
“I feel proud we are moving forward”:
safeguarding mindfulness for vulnerable
student and teacher wellbeing in
a community college
Leigh Burrows
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to report on a study conducted for the purpose of learning more
about the mindfulness experiences of college students and their teachers. To assist in developing a more
inclusive approach to the teaching of mindfulness tailored to the individual needs of more vulnerable students
and to inform teacher training and curriculum development.
Design/methodology/approach –This three-phase phenomenological study involved face-to-face and
online contact with community college students and teachers involved in courses that incorporated
mindfulness meditation. The findings from interviews with students in phase 1 were shared with teachers in
phase 2 along with suggestions for safeguarding in phase 3 but initial results are promising as a number of
safeguards have already been put into place.
Findings –This study found that mindfulness meditation is not necessarily a positive experience for
vulnerable college students and their teachers and that there was a need for more teacher training,
knowledge and ongoing support about the effects of some mindfulness meditations on some vulnerable
students and how to adjust their intensity.
Research limitations/implications –While this is a small qualitative study, the majority of students
interviewed reported unusual experiences. This this is not well known in the literature on mindfulness in higher
education, and a search of the clinical literature supports the findings that significant safeguards and
adjustments are needed for mindfulness meditation for vulnerable students in educational, non-clinical
settings. Further research is needed.
Practical implications –An implication of this study is that mindfulness meditation in its current form is likely
to be unsuitable for vulnerable students. Practical recommendations for safeguarding mindfulness in higher
education are already being trialed, as mentioned in this paper and will be the subject of more extensive
exploration in another paper.
Social implications –There are significant implications in these findings that the potential harmful effects of
mindfulness may be overlooked and may be more commonly experienced than is currently realized especially
for individuals with a history of trauma, with addictions, mental health difficulties or self-harm.
Originality/value –An innovation in this study is its methodology which drew out students’and teachers’
own experience of mindfulness meditation in their own words when most mindfulness studies are quantitative
and tend to focus on outcomes before understanding. In addition, the findings were presented directly to
teachers making it possible to see how little they knew about their students’experiences. This created an
opening and a willingness to adopt safeguarding recommendations.
Keywords Mental health, Wellbeing, Mindfulness, Meditation, Safeguarding, Teaching
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The study that is the focus of this paper began as a phenomenological exploration of students’and
teachers’experiencesof learning and teaching mindfulness meditation in an American community
college, aimed at building on previous research with Australian teachers and school leaders who
Received 9 August 2016
Revised 13 December 2016
6 January 2017
Accepted 12 January 2017
Leigh Burrows is a Senior
Lecturer at the School of
Education, Flinders University,
Adelaide, Australia.
DOI 10.1108/JAP-08-2016-0015 VOL. 19 NO. 1 2017, pp. 33-46, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1466-8203
j
THE JOURNAL OF ADULT PROTECTION
j
PAG E 33
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