Abstract
Despite the growing research on mindfulness in the field of education, there are few studies addressing students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions to help develop self-determination skills in students with mild-to-moderate learning disabilities in a special day class at a middle school. The participants in this study were 14 students, in seventh and eighth grades. In this mixed methods study, the researcher used a single-subject, alternating treatment experimental design with a 3-week baseline phase followed by an 8-week alternating treatment phase (a total of 41 sessions). Data was collected with a pre- and post-intervention study self-report to measure student perceptions in growth of self-determination skills. This pre-post design study examined the impact of implementing mindfulness-based interventions in a class of middle school students. Twelve students practiced mindfulness meditation with a focus on self-awareness. All participants completed the AIR Self-Determination Scale before and after the intervention, in order to better understand overall student capacity for self-determination. The findings indicate that overall, there were examples of growth in students’ self-determined behavior. Recommendations for practice include implementing more consistent site-wide mindfulness practices, and increased training for teachers in the areas of mindfulness-based interventions and meditation in the classroom.