Efficacy of Mindfulness-based Training for Teachers and Young Children for Social Emotional and Ethical Development (SEED)

NCT ID: NCT06820619

Last Updated: 2025-02-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 200 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-12-02
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-31

Brief Summary

The objectives of the present study are to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of implementing teachers' training on mindfulness and developing their competency in delivering the Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) curriculum to preschool children and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the SEED curriculum at kindergartens in improving children's well-being and related outcomes. Randomized controlled trials will be conducted to investigate the effectiveness of SEED teacher training and the SEED Curriculum. A minimum of four kindergartens will be recruited to participate in the study. Half of the kindergartens, teachers, and children will receive the training and SEED curriculum, while the other half will be assigned to the waitlist control condition. Upon informed consent from the school principals and parents, teachers will receive mindfulness training and complete pre- and post-training assessments, and one-month follow-up assessments. Teachers will be taught 8 mindfulness exercises to be integrated into daily teaching and students in the intervention group will receive a 30-minute lesson of SEED curriculum per week, 12 weeks in duration, led by the Bodhi Love Foundation SEED trainers. Parents and students will complete assessments before intervention and after intervention(in the 12th week).

Detailed Description

According to the World Health Organization, early child development lays a critical foundation for healthy habits and long-term development, including health and well-being, as well as changing the trajectory of the next generation in maximizing human potential. Specifically, social-emotional learning (SEL) in early childhood lays the foundation for their later adjustment, including better emotional wellness and fewer internalizing and externalizing problems. Recently, numerous SEL programs have been developed worldwide. Among these evidence-based SEL programs, the Kindness Curriculum is a secular mindfulness-based SEL program designed for children between 4-6 years of age.

In Hong Kong, the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide has identified affective and social development as a major objective in early childhood. Better social-emotional competence is associated with preschool-aged children's lower anxiety and fewer aggressive behaviors in Hong Kong. However, the implementation of evidence-based SEL programs remains immature, with very few programs available for kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care settings and none being mindfulness-based. In response to fulfilling children's psychosocial needs, the Bodhi Love Foundation (BLF) has adapted the Kindness Curriculum for young children in Hong Kong. With the concerted efforts of a team of qualified local mindfulness teachers and Prof. Daniel Goleman as the advisor, the curriculum was translated from English to Chinese and has been adapted for implementation in the local cultural context. The adapted Kindness Curriculum, renamed as Social, Emotional, Ethical Development Curriculum (SEED), is a two-part program involving training teachers on mindfulness and delivery of SEED to young children. As such, the curriculum may be beneficial for both teachers and children.

The project's significance is to cultivate mindfulness and loving-kindness among our teachers and children to equip them with the mindset and skills needed for self-care and the promotion of mental well-being. Such well-being promotion and distress prevention approach that starts early in childhood lays a critical cornerstone for children to develop healthily, which can potentially reduce the incidence of mental illness among younger generations.

Conditions

Development, Child; Mindfulness; Wellbeing

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) curriculum

The kindergarten teachers and children will receive training and 12-week SEED curriculum. Upon informed consent from the school principals and parents, teachers will receive mindfulness training and complete pre- and post-training assessments, and a one-month follow-up assessments. Teachers will be taught 8 mindfulness exercise to integrate into the daily teaching and students in intervention group will receive a 30-min lesson of SEED curriculum per week, 12-weeks in total, lead by the Bohdi Love Foudation tutors. Parents and students will complete questionnaries and assessments pre- and post-intervention.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) curriculum

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

In response to fulfilling children's urgent psychosocial needs, the Bodhi Love Foundation (BLF) adapted the Kindness Curriculum for young children in Hong Kong by translating it from English to Chinese and adapting its length and content for implementation in the local kindergarten context. The adapted Kindness Curriculum, renamed as Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development curriculum (SEED), is a two-part program involving teacher training and delivery of SEED. The teacher training is consist of a 12-hour mindfulness course and a 1-day (6 hours) workshop to get familiarized with the understanding and practice of mindfulness, and the details of the SEED Curriculum. The SEED Curriculum involves 8 short sessions of basic techniques in mindfulness with 10 minutes each. In addition, it has 12 mindfulness-based lessons with specific themes for children in K1 and K2. Each lesson lasts for approximately 30-40 minutes.

Waitlist control group

Two kindergartens will be assigned to the waitlist control condition. Teachers in the waitlist control schools will wait for at least 12 weeks before they receive the training, and children in the waitlist control group will receive SEED curriculum after the teachers' training. Upon informed consent from the school principals and parents, teachers will complete pre-, post-, and 4-week follow-up assessments about their mindfulness and relevant concept. Parents will complete pre- and post- questionnaires about the adjustment of the child. Children will complete pre- and post- assessment tasks with experimenters.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) curriculum

In response to fulfilling children's urgent psychosocial needs, the Bodhi Love Foundation (BLF) adapted the Kindness Curriculum for young children in Hong Kong by translating it from English to Chinese and adapting its length and content for implementation in the local kindergarten context. The adapted Kindness Curriculum, renamed as Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development curriculum (SEED), is a two-part program involving teacher training and delivery of SEED. The teacher training is consist of a 12-hour mindfulness course and a 1-day (6 hours) workshop to get familiarized with the understanding and practice of mindfulness, and the details of the SEED Curriculum. The SEED Curriculum involves 8 short sessions of basic techniques in mindfulness with 10 minutes each. In addition, it has 12 mindfulness-based lessons with specific themes for children in K1 and K2. Each lesson lasts for approximately 30-40 minutes.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• For children: aged 3-7 years old, understand Cantonese
• For parents: aged 18 years old or above, understand Cantonese
• For teachers: aged 18 years old or above, understand Cantonese, currently working at a kindergarten

Exclusion Criteria

• Cannot understand Cantonese

• Minimum Eligible Age: 3 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 7 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Chinese University of Hong Kong

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Winnie W.S. MAK

Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Winnie WS MAK

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Rebecca YM Cheung

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Locations

Dept of Psychology, CUHK, Hong Kong,

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

Hong Kong

Central Contacts

Winnie WS MAK

Role: CONTACT

wwsmak@cuhk.edu.hk

+852 39436577

Philo LY YANG

Role: CONTACT

philoyang@cuhk.edu.hk

Facility Contacts

Winnie MS MAK

Role: primary

wwsmak@cuhk.edu.hk

References

Blewitt C, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M, Nolan A, Bergmeier H, Vicary D, Huang T, McCabe P, McKay T, Skouteris H. Social and Emotional Learning Associated With Universal Curriculum-Based Interventions in Early Childhood Education and Care Centers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2018 Dec 7;1(8):e185727. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.5727.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 30646283 (View on PubMed)

Green M, Kirby JN, Nielsen M. The cost of helping: An exploration of compassionate responding in children. Br J Dev Psychol. 2018 Nov;36(4):673-678. doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12252. Epub 2018 Jun 10.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 29888498 (View on PubMed)

Flook L, Goldberg SB, Pinger L, Bonus K, Davidson RJ. Mindfulness for teachers: A pilot study to assess effects on stress, burnout and teaching efficacy. Mind Brain Educ. 2013 Sep;7(3):10.1111/mbe.12026. doi: 10.1111/mbe.12026.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 24324528 (View on PubMed)

Dunning D, Tudor K, Radley L, Dalrymple N, Funk J, Vainre M, Ford T, Montero-Marin J, Kuyken W, Dalgleish T. Do mindfulness-based programmes improve the cognitive skills, behaviour and mental health of children and adolescents? An updated meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Evid Based Ment Health. 2022 Jul 12;25(3):135-42. doi: 10.1136/ebmental-2022-300464. Online ahead of print.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 35820989 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

SBRE-22-0785B

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id