Self-Compassion for Adolescents: the Role of Education in Scotland

Abstract

In an effort to explore the extent to which self-compassion (and the related concept of mindfulness) may have a role to play in Scottish secondary schools, this mixed methods quasi-experimental study involved the delivery of a mindfulness and self-compassion-based course known as Mindfulness Based Living Course - Young Adults (MBLC-YA) to 194 secondary school pupils aged 11 to 14 in five Scottish schools in a waitlist-crossover trial. There were a number of statistically significant findings, including a decrease in mindfulness score (measured by CAMM), an increase in both the negative and positive dimensions of self-compassion (measured by SCS), and a difference between change in wellbeing score (measured by WEMWBS) in those of lower socioeconomic status (indicated by entitlement to free school meals) and those of higher socioeconomic status such that the gap in wellbeing was narrowed.

Thematic analysis of qualitative data showed that participation in the course was perceived by pupils to confer a wide range of benefits with the primary benefits being of feeling calmer, relating better to both themselves and others, and learning how to be more relaxed. In benefits directly relating to school life, pupils reported feeling more focused, having a changed attitude and coping better with tests and other school pressures. Qualitative Comparative Analysis of post-course questionnaires revealed a number of combinations of causal conditions that were sufficient to prevent the learning of self-compassion in a school environment. The most significant supportive factor in learning self-compassion, as rated by pupils, was the attitude of the teacher of the course.

The Scottish Government appears to have placed high priority on wellbeing in schools, and its Curriculum for Excellence presents wellbeing as foundational. However, it is argued here that, in practice, the focus on standards means that attention to wellbeing or flourishing in schools is being implemented as an afterthought or add-on to ‘business-as-usual’.

As the mental health of secondary school students appears to be declining and large numbers of pupils are failing to thrive in an education system that is focused so strongly on outcomes rather than experience, it can be argued that standards-driven education is not best serving the personal, social or indeed spiritual needs of our secondary school students or from a much wider perspective, the needs of humanity. Adolescents in Scotland are experiencing mental, emotional and spiritual challenges that are arguably greater than ever. In addition to the physical and emotional development that characterizes this stage of life, the pressures of growing up in this digital age are unlike any challenges that have been experienced by earlier generations. The case is made here not just for adolescents to acquire tools that enable them to deal more skilfully with the difficulties that arise for them but for a whole school nurturing approach that is truly the foundation of the education that happens in Scottish secondary schools.