Journaling: A More Mindful Approach to Researching a Mindfulness-Based Intervention in a Junior School

Abstract

Mindfulness, often defined as present-moment awareness, has in recent years become a topic of multidisciplinary interest. This article addresses methodological issues for researching mindfulness and education. It is argued that there are advantages to coherence between ontological and epistemological positions when designing research studies. The limitations of positivistic methods for researching mindfulness are discussed. We then advocate the qualitative method of journaling as a more holistic means of providing in-depth access to the unique and often underexplored inner life of those experiencing a mindfulness intervention. Drawing upon pupils and teachers’ views at a junior school receiving low-intensity mindfulness training, we show how journaling illuminates both its impact upon individuals alongside implementational issues for the school, in a manner more consistent with mindfulness’ emphasis on such terms as “awareness” and “being.”