Topic: Academic Performance, Antisocial Behavior, Emotional Competency
Target Population: Adolescents, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood
Sector: School-Based
This program is for children who are 3 to 14 years old.
MindUP™, a school-based, social and emotional learning (SEL) program, is designed to teach students how to become more focused and how to self-regulate behaviors in order to provide them with the concentration skills required for academic success.
The program website states that MindUP is being rebranded to MindUP for Life, which will also be available to parents, families, and adults, and a new, second edition of the curriculum will be released. However, information on this newest version of the program is not currently available.
A randomized controlled trial conducted with 4th- and 5th-grade students compared MindUP with another SEL program that did not use a mindfulness practice component. Significant differences were found between the two programs immediately after program completion, and MindUP scored higher on measures of executive functions, self-reports of well-being, peer-reports of prosociality and peer acceptance, and school-reported math grades. Posttest results from two quasi-experimental studies indicated improvements in adaptive skills and positive affect and decreases in suppression, negative affect, behavioral symptoms, and deficits in executive functioning in the intervention group compared to a control group. Results from a cultural adaption of the program implemented in Northern Uganda indicated decreases in anger, hostility, and rejection and improvements in positive affect and empathic behaviors in the intervention group compared to a control group.
There is currently no evidence available for the newest version, MindUP for Life.
The program includes curricula for students in grades pre-kindergarten to 2nd grade, 3rd to 5th grade, and 6th to 8th grade. Each curriculum's core component is mindfulness practices that are done three times a day for 3 minutes. Participants are encouraged to focus on their breathing and to listen attentively to a single resonating sound.
Program sessions focus on the following:
Students are encouraged to put these skills to use every day while teachers promote a positive school and classroom environment that supports such practices.
Since its creation in 2003, MindUP has been the signature initiative of The Goldie Hawn Foundation and has been used extensively in the United States, the United Kingdom, and in parts of Asia.
Teachers facilitate this program, and a mandatory 1-day training is conducted on-site by the Hawn Foundation. This is followed by on-going, online training and support. During implementation, a MindUP mentor will visit for further coaching and support. For more information on training and training costs, please use the details in the Contact section.
Considerations for implementing this program include obtaining school administration, teacher, student, and parent buy-in; finding time to implement the sessions in an already existing curriculum; and understanding some costs could be associated with implementing this program.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing MindUP, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Sessions are conducted approximately once a week for 40 to 50 minutes over 15 weeks.
Please use details in the Contact section for information on implementation costs.
To move MindUP to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least six months from program completion.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact the Goldie Hawn Foundation Global Headquarters by mail 220 26th St. Suite 203, Santa Monica, CA 90402, phone 1-213-419-4940 or 1-888-391-1312, email hello@mindup.org, or visit https://mindup.org/contact/
https://mindup.org/ and Schonert-Reichl et al. (2015).
Carvalho, J. S., Pinto, A. M., & Marôco, J. (2017). Results of a mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program on Portuguese elementary students and teachers: A quasi-experimental study. Mindfulness, 8(2), 337-350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0603-z
Crooks, C. V., Bax, K., Delaney, A., Kim, H., & Shokoohi, M. (2020). Impact of MindUP among young children: Improvements in behavioral problems, adaptive skills, and executive functioning. Mindfulness, 11(10), 2433-2444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01460-0
Matsuba, M. K., Schonert-Reichl, K., McElroy, T., & Katahoire, A. (2020). Effectiveness of a SEL/mindfulness program on Northern Ugandan children. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2020.1760977
Schonert-Reichl, K., Oberle, E., Lawlor, M. S., Abbott, D., Thomson, K., Oberlander, T. F., & Diamond, A. (2015). Enhancing cognitive and social–emotional development through a simple-to-administer mindfulness-based school program for elementary school children: A randomized controlled trial. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 52-66. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038454
Hai, A. H., Franklin, C., Cole, A. H., Panisch, L. S., Yan, Y., & Jones, K. (2021). Impact of MindUP on elementary school students’ classroom behaviors: A single-case design pilot study. Children and Youth Services Review, 125, 105981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.105981
Kielty, M., Gilligan, T., Staton, R., & Curtis, N. (2017). Cultivating mindfulness with third grade students via classroom-based interventions. Contemporary School Psychology, 21(4), 317-322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-017-0149-7
Kim, S., Crooks, C. V., Bax, K., & Shokoohi, M. (2021). Impact of trauma-informed training and mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program on teacher attitudes and burnout: A mixed-methods study. School Mental Health, 13(1), 55-68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-020-09406-6
Puka, K., Bax, K., Andrade, A., Devries-Rizzo, M., Gangam, H., Levin, S., … Speechley, K. N. (2020). A live-online mindfulness-based intervention for children living with epilepsy and their families: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial of making mindfulness matter. Trials, 21(1), 922-922. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-04792-3
Schonert-Reichl, K., & Lawlor, M. S. (2010). The effects of a mindfulness-based education program on pre- and early adolescents’ well-being and social and emotional competence. Mindfulness, 1(3), 137-151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-010-0011-8
Thierry, K. L., Bryant, H. L., Nobles, S. S., & Norris, K. S. (2016). Two-year impact of a mindfulness-based program on preschoolers’ self-regulation and academic performance. Early Education and Development, 27(6), 805-821. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2016.1141616
