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Davidson et al. (2012) suggest that systematic meditation and contemplative practices can enhance students’ psychological and social-emotional skills. These practices are believed to cause positive changes in brain function and structure, promoting prosocial behaviour and academic success. However, implementing these practices in schools faces many challenges. Further research and practice are needed to overcome these obstacles and fully realize the potential of contemplative practices. I will discuss these challenges in the context of Chinese education.
Challenge 1: Cultural and Parent Acceptance
On one hand, China has a long history of traditional culture, including Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, which have concepts similar to meditation (Roth, 2021). However, these methods are less applied in modern education. Parents and educators favour traditional academic methods and often lack an understanding of meditation and contemplative practices. This unfamiliarity can lead to doubts about their effectiveness and misunderstandings. On the other hand, China is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country with diverse beliefs. Some parents worry that contemplative practices are tied to specific religions, leading to resistance. This is why religious or philosophical elements are not integrated into China’s basic education system.
Challenge 2: Time and Course Scheduling
In China, students face heavy academic pressure, focusing mainly on core subjects like math, Chinese, English, physics, and chemistry. With the university entrance exam being the key to higher education, students and parents prioritize it highly. This pressure leaves little room for adding meditation and contemplative practices. Many students already juggle extracurricular activities and tutoring, further limiting their time. Educators fear these practices could detract from academic subjects and hinder students’ performance. Moreover, the long-term benefits of mindfulness are hard to see immediately, making parents and educators hesitant to change existing schedules.
Challenge 3: Teacher training and resource support
China is faced with the current situation of uneven distribution of educational resources. Teachers in economically developed regions may already be borrowing from meditation exercises to try “Teaching with Tenderness”, promoting student development through love and understanding (Thompson, 2017). However, in areas where educational resources are scarce, the primary task of teachers is to ensure that students achieve basic teaching goals. There are poor educational facilities, weak teachers, teachers lack sufficient funds and resources for training, and it is difficult to acquire professional knowledge and skills to implement meditation exercises. In addition, the burden of teachers is heavy, the mobility is large, and the teaching quality is difficult to guarantee. There is likely to be more resistance to the introduction of mindfulness exercises, which teachers may perceive as out of touch with current teaching needs and difficult to apply practically.
References
Davidson, R. J., Dunne, J., Eccles, J. S., Engle, A., Greenberg, M., Jennings, P., Jha, A., Jinpa, T., Lantieri, L., Meyer, D., Roeser, R. W., & Vago, D. (2012). Contemplative practices and mental training: Prospects for American education. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 146–153. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2012.00240.x
Roth, H. D. (2021). The Contemplative Foundations of Classical Daoism. SUNY Press.
Thompson, B. (2017). Teaching with tenderness: Toward an embodied practice. University of Illinois Press.
Amazing blog Dorothy. Indeed practices can have a different approach and impact depending on a specific cultural background. Like China, even in India we have a traditional approach based classroom teachings. Even though contemplative practice like yoga has roots in India yet we do not give it the due importance in the school curriculum. It is just treated as an extra curricular activity. Not enough time slots are alotted for such practices on a regular basis. Teacher training and resources are indeed a lacking aspect to it. However, once mindfullness is given due significance, a student is able to focus better, obtaining good scores and thereby improving their overall performance.
Thank you Dorothy. Reading this blog has led me to understand that the place where I come from, India, is not any different or better, when compared to China. I believe it has been in our education systems where they focus on the grades rather than the well being of the students. Their true potential is not given space to grow, rather they are made to learn things by heart in schools. And I think the main reason behind it is the lack of awareness among educators. And this is because of the lack of resources or the lack of teacher training. And yes, teachers are always in time constraints. They are in a hurry to finish teaching the curriculum and thereby, not really having any time to work on such contemplative practices.
But now with the time, where everything is evolving, educators need to know better.
Excellent discussion on the challenges for implementing mindfulness and compassion practices in the classroom in different cultural environments. I agree that there are challenges. When I first became interested in teaching mindfulness and compassion, I was wary about the reaction from other teachers and parents. However, with time and more discussion around the benefits of contemplative practices in education, it has become much more accepted. Different countries have additional challenges. Although difficult, the integration of contemplative practices is possible with education and patience 🙂