Art-Based Mindfulness at School: Integrating Technology, Visual Art, and Culturally Responsive Practices for Youth

• In Event: It Takes a Village: Supporting Diverse Children’s Social-Emotional Well-Being Through Community-Engaged Research

Abstract

Theoretical Framework
This research study aimed to investigate how art-based mindfulness can influence socioemotional well-being and cultivate resilience within racial and ethnic minoritized youth. For students of color and students in poverty, social-emotional learning (SEL) programs can be critical for equipping students with the skills to mitigate the challenges they often experience outside of the classroom while also providing consistent, sustained opportunities to experience positive emotions and accomplishments at school. Jagers et al. (2019) redefined the five SEL core competencies (CASEL, 2021) into an equity‐focused framework called Transformative SEL. Focusing on issues of power, privilege, and social justice, the transformative SEL framework seeks to increase engagement in academic and social efforts to develop identity, agency, belonging, curiosity, and collaborative problem‐solving for minoritized youth (Jagers et al., 2019).

In studies on the impact of mindfulness interventions on minoritized students’ school engagement and belonging, school engagement has been operationalized as a sense of attachment and belonging (Johnson et al., 2001). Students from minoritized backgrounds have been found to experience lower levels of school connectedness safety, and relationships with adults than White students (Voight et al., 2015), due to factors such as stigmatization, discrimination, and disidentification from the school community (Daly et al., 2010). Given this context, mindfulness interventions need to consider the internal experience of racial and ethnic minoritized youth.

Methods
We developed a schoolwide intervention designed to impact school belonging, student well‐being, and relationships among students. The intervention was implementing a digital art‐based mindfulness application called L.A.U.G.H.® (Let Art Unleash Great Happiness) for 20 minutes, once per week at an elementary school in the Pacific Northwest. The study included a diverse sample of 243 elementary school (50.6% female, 39.5% Black, 36.6% White, 6.2% Latinx, 2.5% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 13.6% Multiracial). Using an iPad app, students practiced mindful breathing, created digital art, and identified their mood using a RULER mood meter (Emotionally Intelligent Schools, 2008). Students also answered questions about school connectedness and their joy of learning.

Results
The study design was a one-group repeated measure intervention design where ratings were compared between Weeks 1, 4, 8, and 12 of the intervention. Results indicated that L.A.U.G.H.® time improved student feelings of School Connectedness (F(2.61, 358.15) = 2.95, p = 0.039). Race played a significant role in how students rated their feelings about school, with significant effects that emerged among Black/African American and Asian American/Pacific Islander students. Both groups began with the lowest ratings of school connectedness and demonstrated significant improvements by Week 8 and declines thereafter (figure A). t‐test was completed to compare the average mood ratings from. The t‐test between the first three and the last three sessions of L.A.U.G.H.® Time revealed a 4.74% improvement in means from the Fall to Spring mood for the full sample (t(199) = 2.27, p = 0.01, d = 0.191).

Scholarly Contribution
The L.A.U.G.H.® Time program is an approach to art‐based mindfulness that shows promise in collectively engaging youth, enhancing emotional regulation, and increasing a student's connectedness to school all within a culturally responsive approach.

Author

• Janine Jones, University of Washington