Passionate about introducing mindfulness

In the winter of 2017-2018, Áslandsskóli was offered the opportunity to take part in a research project on the implementation of mindfulness in primary schools, in collaboration with the Mindfulness Centre and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer. The project was funded by the Public Health Fund and its aim is to evaluate the impact of the mindfulness implementation on the well-being, resilience, general executive skills (e.g. emotional regulation and concentration) and mindfulness skills of pupils and staff. The town newspaper Hafnfirðingur met Kristín Jón Magnúsdóttir and Hjördís Jónsdóttir, department heads at Áslandsskóli, who are overseeing the project.

„There is a great deal of pace in society, and it is therefore extremely important that students and staff are given the tools to train and calm the mind. Foreign research has shown that mindfulness training increases well-being, resilience and general executive skills (e.g. emotional regulation and concentration) in pupils and teachers, and the introduction of mindfulness in schools has proven to be a positive experience for both teachers and pupils. We are therefore extremely grateful at Áslandskóli to be able to take part in this project,“ say Kristín Jóna and Hjördís, who are passionate about primary and nursery schools introducing mindfulness into their work. As part of the Healthy Community initiative in Hafnarfjörður, an agreement was made for them to visit the town's nurseries and primary schools with an educational talk about mindfulness and Ásland School's implementation of it.

Workshops, courses and training

The research project is for two years and began in January 2018. Initially, the focus was on mindfulness training for staff on an 8-week MBCT mindfulness course, with 40 staff members enrolling and 35 completing the course. The teachers who completed the course also had the opportunity to attend training in teaching mindfulness to children and adolescents. A team was assembled to manage the project, and Bryndís Jóna Jónsdóttir from the Mindfulness Centre is the school's liaison. Workshops in mindfulness, training in leading mindfulness exercises and teaching training based on the curricula of, among others, Bryndís Jónsdóttir, Sara Silverton and Michael Bready have been offered. In addition, the teachers Kristín Jóna and Hjördís attended a teacher training course run by the Mindfulness Centre and Bangor University in the UK, for which they received a grant from the Health Promotion Society of Hafnarfjörður. The course is called the Teacher Training Pathway, which is professional teacher training for mindfulness professionals.

Mindfulness introduced in school

Following these courses, work began to introduce mindfulness into the school. This was done, on the one hand, by offering pupils in Years 7 and 8 an 8-week mindfulness course—as these year groups are participants in the research project—and on the other, by introducing mindfulness techniques into general teaching. Parents were also introduced to what mindfulness entails and how its techniques can be used in daily life. This winter, it was decided to introduce structured mindfulness sessions for certain year groups; Years 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10, with the aim that every child who goes through 10 years of schooling at Áslandssskóli receives targeted mindfulness teaching in all departments. In addition, teachers are weaving mindfulness into lessons as appropriate, and there are plans for regular mindfulness exercises for the staff, partly to help them take better care of themselves.

Hjördís Jónsdóttir recently discussed mindfulness on Vitanum, the City of Hafnarfjörður's podcast.