Mindfulness as a Tool: Strengthening Inhibitory Control in Preschoolers Through Self-Awareness

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Innovative Approaches in Education: Mindfulness, Cultural Literacy, and Cooperative Learning Strategies for Young Learners (Table 1)

Abstract

The purpose of this Action Research Project was to examine the impact of mindfulness practices on preschoolers with a focus on inhibitory control. Today, there is an increase in suicides, self-hurting, impulsive and aggressive behaviors in children as young as four years old. At this age, children are just beginning to transition from being impulsive self-focused toddlers to socially oriented rule-abiding little humans. The researcher taught mindfulness practices to seven preschoolers over six weeks, to increase their self-awareness, and used Heads Toes Knees Shoulders (HTKS) instrument to measure changes in their inhibitory control. This study discovered that explicitly taught mindfulness instruction increased preschoolers’ self-awareness and strengthened their inhibitory control enabling them to override natural, or habitual responses to stimuli.

Authors

• Hasmik Movsisyan, National University

• Cynthia M. Sistek, National University