“Come and See for Yourself”: Exploration of Mindfulness Practice by First-Year College Students

Authors

Maristela C. Zell, Governors State UniversityFollow
Timothy Pedigo, Governors State UniversityFollow
Matthew Cooney, Governors State UniversityFollow

Abstract

This grounded theory study aims at explaining how college freshmen develop and stay engaged with a regular mindfulness practice, and the benefits they experience. The authors investigated an intentional effort to integrate mindfulness practices in the curriculum of a First-Year Seminar and English Composition course. The results presented here support existing findings concerning the integration of mindfulness practice in higher education settings. This study also advances unique findings relative to utilizing classroom settings to introduce first-year students to the practice, as a long as the course follows a regular structure (i.e., attendance, homework assignments). The substantive theory presented describes how students developed a practice routine and made the practice relevant for their academic and personal lives. Recommendations for practice and future research are included.

Keywords

mindfulness, first-year college students, self-awareness, self-criticism, compassion

Author Bio(s)

Maristela C. Zell, PhD., LCSW, is a Professor in the Department of Social Work and Director of General Education at Governors State University. Please direct correspondence to mzell@govst.edu.

Timothy W. Pedigo, PhD., is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Psychology and Coordinator of the Master’s in Clinical Psychology at Governors State University. Please direct correspondence to tpedigo@govst.edu.

Matthew A. Cooney, PhD., is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Education at Governors State University. Please direct correspondence to mcooney@govst.edu.

Publication Date

1-24-2021

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4430

Recommended APA Citation

Zell, M. C., Pedigo, T., & Cooney, M. (2021). “Come and See for Yourself”: Exploration of Mindfulness Practice by First-Year College Students. The Qualitative Report, 26(1), 274-295. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4430