Browsing by Subject "buddhalaisuus"

This bachelor’s thesis investigates the possibilities of using meditation practices in the context of primary education. Meditation has been studied academically using the concept of mindfulness. The aim of the thesis is to answer questions what is mindfulness, and how it could be utilized effectively in the context of primary education. This research has been conducted as a narrative review. The material has been collected in many phases as the research progressed, and material has been collected using the collections of University of Helsinki. In order to understand mindfulness material has been searched both concerning its historical background and the modern academic usage of the term. Buddhist origins or the term, and its journey to academic world have both been investigated. In addition to this, the operational definitions of mindfulness in modern research have been studied, and the relationship of these definitions to the roots of the concept is also reviewed. . The application of mindfulness practices has been studied mostly by intervention programs. Ten different research programs representing different kinds of interventions have been chosen as the material of this study. In the selection of these interventions emphasis has been placed on interventions based on MBSR, a therapy program which was found to have been important for the development of modern conception of mindfulness. To understand the phenomenon from a wider perspective, programs with no immediate connections to MBSR were also chosen. Most modern definitions of the term seemed to be in line with each other. In modern research, mindfulness refers to the ability of consciousness to be aware of itself and its contents without judgement. Overview of the interventions studied here indicates that mindfulness practices seem to be beneficial and there is potential for their application in school context. For the intervention programs, the greatest challenge has been the active engagement of participants. There seems to be a connection between active participation on the program, and the results it provides. How to create this engagement, and how to ensure enough participation on the meditation practices of the interventions remain challenging questions.