Mindfulness as part of a broad and balanced curriculum

Can mindfulness contribute to a broad and balanced curriculum that enriches life? Philippa Griffiths, PGCE (geography), University of Oxford Before embarking on my PGCE, research led me to an array of negative reports on poor teacher and student mental health. This sparked my interest in mindfulness, an intervention for improving wellbeing and has already been incorporated into the curriculum of some schools. Mindfulness is mental training that has benefits for adult health and wellbeing, and is grounded in numerous psychological studies. It is beyond the scope of this paper to include the full breadth, but key empirical studies will be reported. There is an equally positive evidence base emerging for mindfulness in schools, which will be explored in greater detail. The aim is to demonstrate that mindfulness is a highly usable, quantified psychological therapy that can contribute to an education that is ‘a direct enrichment of life’ (Dewey, 1934). What is mindfulness? There