The implementation of a school-based mental health and wellness curriculum featuring yoga and mindfulness, known as “Pure Power”, has shown promising results in improving both emotional regulation and academic outcomes among primary school students. This programme evaluation highlights the effectiveness of Pure Power in enhancing students’ coping skills, emotion regulation, and academic performance, particularly in spelling and maths. The findings were published in the journal PLOS One.
The Pure Power curriculum was designed to address the rising interest in mindfulness-based interventions in schools. Previous research has suggested that mindfulness and yoga can improve socio-emotional competence, attention span, and the ability to cope with stress among young people. This study aimed to provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of a curriculum implemented in primary schools, particularly those serving underserved communities.
The study involved a non-randomised comparison design, examining outcomes among students from schools that completed the intervention with high fidelity and those from matched comparison schools. Over a period of several years, qualified yoga instructors delivered the curriculum twice weekly in sessions that lasted about 35 minutes. Students’ coping mechanisms, emotional regulation, and academic performance were assessed using standardised measures, including the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R) for spelling and maths.
The evaluation revealed significant improvements in both emotional and academic outcomes for students participating in the Pure Power curriculum. The analysis indicated that students in the intervention group demonstrated relative improvements in emotion regulation and academic performance compared to those in the control group.
For spelling scores, repeated measures ANOVA results showed a significant effect of time, with scores increasing over time. There was also a significant time x study group interaction and a significant time, study group, and matched pair interaction. These results suggest that while the control group performed significantly higher at the beginning, the intervention group caught up over time, showing significant improvement from the baseline to subsequent assessments.
Math scores followed a similar pattern, with a significant effect of time and a significant time x study group x matched pair interaction. The control group scored higher initially, but the intervention group showed substantial improvement over time, particularly in specific pairs of matched schools.
Despite these positive outcomes, the study also highlighted several challenges in the implementation of the Pure Power curriculum. There is variation in the implementation’s fidelity across schools as a result of things like cancelled classes, administration support, and the use of substitute teachers. These challenges underscore the need for flexibility and adaptability in programme delivery to ensure consistent and effective implementation.
The authors suggest that training school staff to deliver the curriculum, rather than relying solely on external yoga instructors, could improve implementation fidelity and sustainability. Teachers, who are already familiar with the students and the school environment, may be better positioned to integrate the curriculum into the regular school schedule.
The Pure Power curriculum has demonstrated its potential to positively impact students’ emotional well-being and academic performance. While implementation challenges exist, the findings support the integration of mindfulness and yoga into school-based interventions. Future research should focus on the long-term effects of such programmes and explore the effectiveness of teacher-led implementations to ensure broader and more consistent application.
