A School-Based Mindfulness Program for Chinese Migrant Children: A Qualitative Study on Feasibility and Effects

Background and Purpose

With rapid urbanization, migrant children have become one of the most vulnerable groups in Chinese cities. In expectation of higher life quality and better education opportunity, many children migrate with their parents to urban areas. Migrating children in China face unique challenges because of the huge rural/urban disparities, salient dialect differences, and systemic barriers. The Chinese household registration system (hukou) ties individuals’ social welfare to their registered residence. Most migrant families do not have hukou in the city to which they have migrated and are thus ineligible to access urban social welfare, such as education, medical services, and housing (Zhang & Luo, 2015). Compared with their non-migrant counterparts, migrant children reported a higher level of psychological, social and behavior problems (Zhang et al., 2019).

The use of Mindfulness-based Interventions (MBIs) has increased in primary and middle school classrooms over the last two decades (for an overview see Meiklejohn et al., 2012). Research has suggested that by cultivating "present moment awareness without judgment" (Kabat-Zin, 1994, p.4), MBIs may contribute to various benefits for children’s mental health and well-being, including improved cognitive performance (Crescentini et al., 2015), increased resilience (Carsley et al., 2018), reduced stress (Anand & Sharma, 2014), and fewer behavioral problems (Felver et al., 2014).

Despite the increasing utilization of MBIs in children, few qualitative studies have explored the experiences of migrant children participating in MBIs to generate a deep understanding of their real experiences. Investigation into children’s experience can deepen our understanding of the processes of change and the appropriateness of the services. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the general acceptability and to assess potential effect of a school-based MBI for Chinese migrant children.

Methods

Thirty children (ages 9-11 years) and five facilitators participated in individual interviews after the 12-session MBI delivered at three migrant schools. The intervention was facilitated by school teachers who received training on the curriculum. The program includes age-adapted mindfulness concepts and practices, such as mindful breathing, mindful eating, and loving-kindness meditation. Audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

Overall, interviews with students and facilitators revealed that most students were interested in and actively participated in the mindfulness program, whilst some students also found parts of the program “unhelpful” or “boring.” Findings also indicated key benefits for children, including improvements in emotional, social, and cognitive functioning. A number of the students described an increased attention ability as a result of the mindfulness practice. Some students identified that mindful breathing helped them calm down rather than being driven by emotional reactivity during difficult experiences. There were also students who reported growing understanding and acceptance of their friends, as well as fewer conflicts in peer relationships after the mindfulness program.

Conclusions

Migrant children who participated in the mindfulness program were able to develop a preliminary understanding and application of mindfulness. School-based MBIs appear to be acceptable to migrant children and a promising strategy to enhance mental health and well-being in this vulnerable group.