Transcendental Meditation, Academic Achievement
and School Behaviour in At-Risk Students
1. Full Citation
Nidich, S. I., Mjasiri, S., Nidich, R. J., Rainforth, M., Grant, J., Valosek, L., Chang, W., & Zigler, R. L. (2011).
Academic Achievement and Transcendental Meditation: A Study with At-Risk Urban Middle School Students.
Education (peer-reviewed)
Study Code: L-01
Reference Information
Journal: Education
Year: 2011
Study Code: L-01
DOI: None assigned (the article is indexed in ERIC but does not appear to have a DOI).
Level of Evidence: Controlled intervention study (quasi-experimental school-based study)
Peer Reviewed: Yes
2. Research Question
Can practising the Transcendental Meditation technique during the school day improve academic achievement, attendance and behaviour among students attending an urban middle school considered to be at high risk of poor educational outcomes?
3. Participants
- Approximately 189 middle school students
- Urban public school
- United States
- Students considered academically and socially at risk
- Both boys and girls
4. Method
- Controlled school-based intervention
- Students learnt the Transcendental Meditation technique
- Meditation practised twice daily during the school day
- Academic performance, attendance and behavioural indicators were monitored over the study period
- Results were compared with students not practising the technique
5. Key Findings
- After three months, students practising Transcendental Meditation showed greater improvement than controls in English scale scores (p = 0.002) and mathematics scale scores (p < 0.001).
- A greater proportion of meditating students improved by at least one performance level in English and mathematics (p < 0.01).
- A matched-control subgroup analysis produced similar results.
- The study also showed that twice-daily meditation could be incorporated into the school day for the students who participated.
6. Practical Implications
This study provides preliminary evidence that a school-based Transcendental Meditation programme may be associated with improved English and mathematics achievement among the at-risk middle-school students who took part.
Because the study involved one school, used a quasi-experimental design and followed students for three months, it does not by itself establish that TM will improve achievement in other schools, age groups, colleges, universities or professional training settings. It provides a rationale for larger, randomised and longer-term studies.
7. Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
- Peer-reviewed study conducted in a real educational setting.
- Included 189 students who were below proficiency in English or mathematics at baseline.
- Used standardised English and mathematics test scores and included a comparison group.
- A matched-control subgroup analysis produced similar findings.
Limitations
- The study was quasi-experimental rather than individually randomised, so unmeasured differences between groups may have influenced the results.
- It was conducted in one urban middle school and followed students for only three months.
- The findings may not generalise to other schools, age groups or educational systems.
- The study assessed academic achievement; it did not establish effects on attendance, behaviour, emotional stability or examination preparation.