An exploratory study of teachers’ perceptions and experiences of the ‘mindfulness minute’ in an Irish school: informing guidance counsellors’ future design and Implementation of mindfulness practices.

This study explores teachers’ perceptions and experiences of the ‘Mindfulness Minute,’ a whole-school mindfulness intervention used daily in a case study school. It aims to contribute to the development and implementation, by guidance counsellors, of mindfulness activities, particularly the ‘Mindfulness Minute,’ in the schools. Outcomes for mindfulness interventions have been shown to included; improved attention and concentration (Schonert-Reichl and Lawlor, 2010), reduced stress and anxiety (Sapthiang et al. 2019), improved emotional regulation, reduction in avoidance of emotions (Fung et al. 2019), and improvements in career decision making (Galles et al. 2019). These potential outcomes make mindfulness interventions appealing to the guidance counsellor, who plays a vital role in coordinating wellbeing activities in schools (NCGE 2017). An interpretivist view underpins the study and I chose a qualitative approach to the research. One to one phone interviews were carried out with eight teachers in the case study school. Data was then analysed using Braun & Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis approach. This process identified three main themes and a series of sub themes. Lack of teacher buy-in, fidelity issues, lack of teacher preparedness, lack of understanding as to the overall aim of the intervention, lack of follow up and teacher role confusion were found to be negatively impacting outcomes. Variations in student interaction with the intervention across year groups were also found.