Tag: meditation and students

Transcendental Meditation Associated With Higher Graduation Rates, Study Shows

Posted on by Tammy

Practicing Transcendental Meditation technique is associated with higher graduation rates, according to a new study published in the June 2013 issue of the journal “Education.”

Analysis of school records for 235 high school senior students at an East Coast urban high school was conducted to determine on-time graduation, and findings showed a 15 percent higher graduation rate for the entire meditating group compared to the non-meditating control group, after taking into account student grade point average, according to the study. Subgroup analysis further indicated a 25 percent difference in graduation rates when considering only the low academic performing students in both groups.

“These results are the first to show that the Transcendental Meditation program can have a positive impact on student graduation rates,” Sanford Nidich, Ed.D, co-author and professor of education at Maharishi University of Management said in the study. “The largest effect was found in the most academically challenged students. Recently published research on increased academic achievement and reduced psychological stress in urban school students may provide possible mechanisms for the higher graduation rates found in this study.”

Researchers say the findings also showed significant differences for dropout rates and college acceptance, as meditating students were less apt to drop out from school or go to prison, and were more likely to be accepted to post-secondary institutions.

“While there are bright spots in public education today, urban schools on the whole tend to suffer from a range of factors which contribute to poor student academic performance and low graduation rates,” said lead study author, Robert D. Colbert, Ph.D., associate professor, and director of Neag School of Education’s Diversity Council at University of Connecticut.

“Students need to be provided with value-added educational programs that can provide opportunities for school success. Our study investigated one such program, Transcendental Meditation, which appears to hold tremendous promise for enriching the lives of our nation’s students.”

Meditation Improves Focus & Grades in College Students, Research Shows

Posted on by Tammy

As reported in the journal, Mindfulness, a study of university students in California found those who practiced meditation scored better on tests, and those who meditated before classes focused better and concentrated longer, the UK Telegraph reported.

With just six minutes of meditation before a test, students showed better results, according to Jared Ramsburg, a University of Illinois doctoral student who co-lead the study. In one experiment, the meditation even predicted which students passed and which students failed the quiz.

The research found meditation training worked better on freshman students, who may have more difficulty concentrating. “This data from this study suggest that meditation may help students who might have trouble paying attention or focusing,” said George Mason University, Virgina, professor Robert Youmans, who co-lead the study with Ramsburg. “Sadly, freshmen classes probably contain more of these types of students than senior courses because student populations who have difficulty self-regulating are also more likely to leave the university.”

Researchers also believe taking long walks in the morning to plan out the day could have the same positive effects as meditation. “Basically, becoming just a little bit more mindful about yourself and your place in the world might have a very important, practical benefit – in this case, doing better in college,” Ramsburg said.