INITIAL INTERVENTION THOUGHTS:
As I begin my intervention plans I reflect on my other blogposts and knowledge that the impact of discrimination on marginalised people results in poor mental health, burnout and low self-esteem, making it harder to make creative work.
Yale Professor Laurie Santos explains that students are facing a mental health crisis. ‘Over 40% of college (university) students report being too depressed to function most of the time. Over 60% say they feel overwhelmingly anxious.” Over 10% say they have seriously considered suicide. (Harris, Santos, 2023) I know from speaking to colleagues and from my own experience, that our situation in the UK is similar.
Research is showing that mindfulness is beneficial in teaching in terms of preventing burnout and enhancing positive mindsets. According to Look et al. (2013), incorporating brief mindfulness exercises before and after classes can help prevent burnout and improve teaching efficacy in educators. This can be achieved by leading a short mindfulness meditation exercise at the beginning of the class and engaging in a brief exercise, such as a body scan or meditation, at the end of the class. I feel it also beneficial to begin the intervention with staff as our temperament and attitude sets the tone for the students’ approach.
I currently have a lot of questions about targeting a mindfulness intervention for those who most need it. Perhaps a longer term solution would be to work with societies or existing communities in UAL so that I could look for events specifically for Black students or for Disabled students and add a meditation to these events. I can see though that any intervention that includes some and excludes others can be problematic. I also feel that an open, drop-in approach is good, so that whoever is free at the time and able to attend can benefit. It also feels important to add that this being outside my role means that to run a significant mindfulness meditation intervention would require some funding, and that accessing funding requires further work and proposals.
At LCF we have a Mutli-faith room also known as the ‘quiet room’. My ideal intervention would involve another room at college where students/staff could lie down. As if a meditation were to happen in the quiet room it would leave no space for Muslim students who needed to pray for example. However ideally an optional drop-in meditation would happen once a week and I would run the 8 week course one evening a week for an hour and a half. The ultimate goal of all mindfulness interventions would be to help students develop and maintain a daily practice, although in my experiernce this can take years and people come to it only when they are ready. However every little helps, and even a small amount of meditation can be effective.
My own capacity to run these sessions as well as doing my teaching work is currently limited, I will continue to look for opportunities to run the 8 week course and/or further sessions. However for now figuring out how to integrate parts of this into existing sessions is important.
My current thoughts are to:
- Include a short meditation session with my colleagues on our staff development day on the 9th July (If my course leader will allow time for this)
- Work further on an LCF focused mindful drawing class, think about how I could tailor this for marginalised students and show it to my colleagues to gain feedback.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Birte Klusmann, Robbert Sanderman, Maya J. Schroevers, Delivering mindfulness in the classroom via a technology-enabled approach: Feasibility and the potential impact on teachers’ psychological well-being, self-efficacy, and mindfulness, Teaching and Teacher Education, 10.1016/j.tate.2022.103950, 122, (103950),
Harris, D. (2023). There is actually a science of happiness: Interviewing Yale Professor Laurie Santos [Podcast]. 10 October. Available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/there-is-actually-a-science-of-happiness/id1073460738?i=1000657021304 (Accessed: 06.06.2024).
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion
Look, L., Goldberg, S. B., Pinger, L., Bonus, K., & Davidson, R. J. (2013). Mindfulness for Teachers: A Pilot Study to Assess Effects on Stress, Burnout, and Teaching Efficacy. Mind, Brain, and Education, 7, 182-195. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12026
One response to “IP: INTERVENTION THOUGHTS”
Hi Emma,
I remember you explaining this in our last meeting but it is great to see this further contextualised within the theory. The reflection on the impact of discrimination and mental health challenges among marginalised groups is powerful and it is great to see you engage with this with your intervention.
Introducing and integrating mindfulness as a tool is amazing. It is something I know very little about personally. My reflection on this, is how are you making sure to look after your own wellbeing in this process? You acknowledge some limitations based on teaching responsibilities and time, and it feels like an activity like this may put even more pressure on you. I would encourage you to consider how you support yourself during this process.
This is a little random, in my last response to your comment I acknowledged your personal work, which has such a distinct aesthetic. Is there any interest or way to introduce aspects of this into the intervention. It may not be necessary but may be fun.