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Health and school performance during home
isolation at Institución Educativa Privada Prescott
in Puno, Perú
Lee Fergusson, Javier Ortiz Cabrejos & Anna Bonshek
To cite this article: Lee Fergusson, Javier Ortiz Cabrejos & Anna Bonshek (2022) Health
and school performance during home isolation at Institución Educativa Privada Prescott in
Puno, Perú, Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society, 5:1, 2003004, DOI:
10.1080/25729861.2021.2003004
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/25729861.2021.2003004
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa
UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis
Group
Published online: 15 Mar 2022.
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Health and school performance during home isolation at
Institución Educativa Privada Prescott in Puno, Perú
Lee Fergusson
a
, Javier Ortiz Cabrejos
b
and Anna Bonshek
c
a
Maharishi Vedic Research Institute and University of Southern Queensland, Australia;
b
Instituto Maharishi
de Ciencia y Tecnología del Perú, Lima, Perú;
c
Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, Gold Coast, Australia
ABSTRACT
Approximately 2000 indigenous students at Institución Educativa
Privada Prescott in Puno, located in the Andes high on the
Altiplano of Lake Titicaca, have been instructed in Transcendental
Meditation. In this study, we examine the impact of home
isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic on physical, cognitive,
and emotional health, and school performance for a group of 54
meditating students, and contrast these results to a comparison
group of 53 meditating students who reported their health and
learning prior to the pandemic. The study is the first to consider
the association of home isolation on students practicing
meditation in a group: (A) at the same time of day and in the
same place as part of their daily school routine and (B) during
online sessions at the same time of day but in a different place.
Findings indicate both approaches to group meditation before
and during the pandemic produced favourable results for health
and school performance.
Saúde e desempenho escolar durante o isolamento
domiciliar na Institución Educativa Privada Prescott
em Puno, Peru
RESUMO
Aproximadamente 2.000 estudantes indígenas da Institución
Educativa Privada Prescott em Puno, localizada nos Andes no alto
do Altiplano do Lago Titicaca, foram instruídos em Meditação
Transcendental. Neste estudo, examinamos o impacto do
isolamento domiciliar durante a pandemia de COVID-19 na saúde
física, cognitiva e emocional e no desempenho escolar de um
grupo de 54 alunos meditantes e contrastamos esses resultados
com um grupo de 53 alunos meditadores que relataram sua
saúde e aprendizado antes da pandemia. O estudo é o primeiro a
considerar a associação do isolamento domiciliar em alunos que
praticam meditação em grupo: A) no mesmo horário e no mesmo
local como parte do cotidiano escolar; e B) durante as sessões
online na mesma hora do dia, mas em local diferente. Os
resultados indicam que ambas abordagens de meditação em
KEYWORDS
Perú; health; school
performance; COVID-19;
coping; Transcendental
Meditation
PALAVRAS-CHAVE
Peru; saúde; desempenho
escolar; COVID-19;
enfrentamento; Meditação
Transcendental
PALABRAS CLAVE
Perú; salud; desempeño
escolar; COVID-19;
afrontamiento; Meditación
Trascendental
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
CONTACT Lee Fergusson lee.fergusson@usq.edu.au
TAPUYA: LATIN AMERICAN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
2022, VOL. 5, 2003004
https://doi.org/10.1080/25729861.2021.2003004
grupo antes e durante a pandemia produziram resultados
favoráveis para a saúde e o desempenho escolar.
Salud y rendimiento escolar durante el aislamiento
domiciliario en Institución Educativa Privada Prescott
en Puno, Perú
RESUMEN
Aproximadamente 2.000 estudiantes indígenas de la Institución
Educativa Privada Prescott en Puno, ubicada en lo alto de los
Andes en el Altiplano del Lago Titicaca, han sido instruidos en
Meditación Trascendental. En este estudio examinamos el
impacto del aislamiento en el hogar durante la pandemia de
COVID-19 en la salud física, cognitiva y emocional y el
rendimiento escolar de un grupo de 54 estudiantes que meditan,
y contrastamos estos resultados con un grupo de comparación
de 53 estudiantes que meditan que informaron su salud y
aprendizaje antes de la pandemia. El estudio es el primero en
considerar la asociación del aislamiento domiciliario en
estudiantes que practican meditación en grupo: A) a la misma
hora del día y en el mismo lugar como parte de su rutina escolar
diaria; y B) durante sesiones en línea a la misma hora del día pero
en un lugar diferente. Los hallazgos indican que ambos enfoques
de la meditación grupal antes y durante la pandemia produjeron
resultados favorables para la salud y el rendimiento escolar.
1. Introduction
A significant body of literature has emerged concerning the mental health impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The literature generally argues that when individuals are deprived of
their normal routine of social interaction and freedom of movement, coupled with experi-
ences of financial loss and confusion in political and health messaging, mental and phys-
ical health will suffer, potentially leading to increased incidences of anxiety and
depression, reduced physical fitness, and other psycho-socio-physical disorders. Such
mental states can be caused by fear of the disease or the unknown and may result in mala-
daptive behaviors (such as insomnia, panic, or anger), defensive responses, and longer-
term emotional distress.
For example, Kumar and Nayar (2020, 1; our emphasis) have considered how measures
such as self-isolation and quarantine have affected “usual activities, routines, and liveli-
hoods of people that may lead to an increase in loneliness, anxiety,depression, insomnia,
harmful alcohol and drug use, and self-harm or suicidal behavior.”Pfefferbaum and
North (2020, 510; our emphasis) go further by claiming that public health measures
associated with lockdowns are “among the major stressors that undoubtedly will contrib-
ute to widespread emotional distress and increased risk for psychiatric illness.”Bressan et al.
(2021) have even found evidence for increased risk of domestic accidents in children
during home lockdown.
Cullen, Gulati, and Kelly (2020, 311; our emphasis) reinforce these views when they say
“we anticipate a considerable increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms among people
who do not have preexisting mental health conditions, with some experiencing post-
2L. FERGUSSON ET AL.
traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] in due course.”They cite research which found 54% of
1200 people in China rated the adverse psychological impact of COVID-19 as moderate
or severe, with 29% experiencing increased anxiety and 17% increased depression.
Liang et al. (2020) and Child (2020) maintain that learning and physical health may also
be adversely affected. Research emerging from Poland (Parczewska 2020), India (Sankar
et al. 2020), China (Duan et al. 2020), and Latin America (Antúnez-Montes et al. 2020)
all point to these same general conclusions.
Of interest to the present study, Liu et al. (2020, 347; our emphasis) specifically point
out that researchers have realized public health measures like quarantine and home iso-
lation “might have adverse psychological effects on children who are quarantined,”but
temper their opinion by pointing out for children who are isolated at home with
parents or relatives, “the stress caused by such a sharp change in their environment
might be eased to some degree.”The stressors associated with quarantining and home
isolation have been especially highlighted for children with pre-existing conditions,
such as those with lung disease (Ademhan Tural et al. 2020), cancer (Saroha and
Moulik 2020), and autism (Ameis et al. 2020), and for children in low- and middle-
income countries (Zar et al. 2020).
In addition to the potential onset of anxiety and depression and problems associated
with learning and physical fitness, the published literature is particularly instructive on
adaptive coping mechanisms. For children, adolescents, and adults, multiple psychosocial
pathways have been identified to offset the negative effects of quarantine and home iso-
lation, including acceptance/resignation, the use of humor, collaborative online social
activities, and acting as if nothing is happening (Liang et al. 2020; Orgilés et al. 2021).
Moreover, indirect mechanisms of coping, associated, for example, with one’s demo-
graphic background (such as age and gender) or personality, have also been identified
as moderating variables of health outcomes in young people during the pandemic
(Volk et al. 2021). Among the various methods of adaptive coping during the pandemic
is meditation, however as Black, Milam, and Sussman (2018, e532) have stated, “empirical
evidence supports the notion that some forms of meditation such as Transcendental Med-
itation may be more effective than others …in reducing ailments and promoting health.”
Allbritton and Heeter (2018, 3) have conceptualized meditation as “attention-based
practices that have an immediate effect on the human system and lead to longer term
outcomes.”But they also point out different taxonomies of meditation, and indeed
research more generally on this subject, have blurred or agglomerated distinctions and
definitions of “meditation”(for example, they cite 4 main types of meditation and 12
examples, including the Transcendental Meditation technique) making rigorous research
of meditation challenging. Furthermore, “endless variations [of meditation] exist, [and are]
interpreted and adapted by individual teachers”(Allbritton and Heeter 2018, 5), a problem
for research also noted by Holt (2015).
Taught systematically for over 60 years, the Transcendental Meditation technique is a
unique form of meditation, and is one of the most comprehensively researched medita-
tion techniques for the amelioration of psychosocial stressors and the development of
resilience (Holt 2015). Transcendental Meditation is said to be
a simple, natural, effortless procedure practiced for fifteen to twenty minutes in the morning
and evening while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed. During this technique, the
TAPUYA: LATIN AMERICAN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 3
individual’s awareness settles down and experiences a unique state of restful alertness; as the
body becomes deeply relaxed, the mind transcends all mental activity to experience the sim-
plest form of human awareness –Transcendental Consciousness –where consciousness is
open to itself. This is the self-referral state of consciousness. (Maharishi Foundation Inter-
national 2014,3)
As a consequence of the experience of Transcendental Consciousness, the individual’s
latent creative potential is enlivened while the physiology simultaneously rids itself of
accumulated stress and fatigue as a result of the profoundly deep levels of rest gained
during the practice. Indeed, earlier research suggested rest during Transcendental Med-
itation was metabolically more than twice as deep as sleep (for example, it has been
associated with apneustic breathing, which is rare in healthy adults, as observed by Kes-
terson and Clinch 1989) yet during the practice, the mind remains awake and fully alert to
its surroundings. This experience is said to enliven “within one’s awareness creativity,
dynamism, orderliness, and organizing power, which results in increasing effectiveness
and success in daily life”(Maharishi Foundation International 2014, 3).
Since the 1970s, the Transcendental Meditation technique has been thoroughly docu-
mented, resulting in an extensive corpus of empirical evidence in three broad research
categories: (1) physiology (including metabolic, biochemical and cardiovascular
changes, electrophysiological and electroencephalographic (EEG) changes, physiological
efficiency and stability, health, motor and perceptual ability, and athletic performance); (2)
psychology (including intelligence and creativity, cognitive styles such as field indepen-
dence, learning, academic performance, and personality); and (3) sociology (including
rehabilitation, productivity, social and economic impacts, and quality of life) contained
in 8 volumes of 678 published studies (Chalmers et al. 1989a,1989b,1989c; Dillbeck
2011; Dillbeck et al. 2013,2020; Gaur et al. 2015; Orme-Johnson and Farrow 1977;
Wallace, Orme-Johnson, and Dillbeck 1990).
For example, research in category (1) on EEG and magnetoencephalographic (MEG)
changes confirm earlier findings that Transcendental Meditation increases power in the
frontal areas of the brain, increases alpha activity, and generally slows brainwave frequen-
cies when compared to a control condition of mental repetition (e.g. Travis 2011; Yama-
moto et al. 2006). Examples in category (2) include Colbert and Nidich’s(2013) research
which found evidence Transcendental Meditation had a salutary effect on high school
graduation and college acceptance rates. In category (3), and of relevance to the
present study on the COVID-19 pandemic in Perú, Yoshimura et al. (2015) examined resi-
dents in two cities affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and found that
even a number of months after the trauma, residents had greater and more intense
mental and physical stress symptoms than control subjects but after a week of instruction
and practice of Transcendental Meditation, those symptoms and their intensity were sig-
nificantly alleviated, with the result these residents did not differ from controls.
These findings include psychosocial research relevant to the present study on home
isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, recent randomized controlled
research indicates the technique reduces PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, sleep
difficulties, and anger, and improves quality of life (Bellehsen et al. 2021). Similar salutary
effects in children and adolescents have been observed over several decades (e.g. Benn
2003; Bleasdale, Peterson, and Nidich 2019; Grosswald et al. 2008; Nidich et al. 2011;
Rosaen and Benn 2006), including reduced stress and anxiety as a means to reducing
4L. FERGUSSON ET AL.
symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), improved skills indicative of
increased emotional intelligence (such as self-control, self-reflection/awareness, and flexi-
bility in emotional response), and improved academic performance, and reduced per-
ceived stress, anxiety, anger, depression, and fatigue, and increased self-esteem.
Nidich, Nidich, and Rainforth (1986,1987) had earlier reported primary-grade students
who practiced Transcendental Meditation perform better on standardized tests than their
peers in mathematics and quantitative thinking, reading and language skills, and on a
range of developmental skills, including improved academic performance, and edu-
cational development in correctness of expression, and the social and natural sciences.
The authors also report findings associated with increased intelligence scores for
primary-grade students who meditate, as well as increased creativity when compared
to controls, a finding replicated in later studies by the same authors (Nidich and Nidich
1989; Nidich, Nidich, and Rainforth 1986) and by others (e.g. Dixon et al. 2005).
Nidich and Nidich (1987) also presented results associated with moral reasoning andpro-
social behavior of meditating children compared to controls at two alternative schools,
finding greater prosocial choice and behavior for self and others by the students who prac-
ticed Transcendental Meditation. These findings were associated with length of time practi-
cing the technique and instructors’ratings of classroom prosocial behavior. According to
the authors, such findings were also correlated with “brain wave coherence”(457), a
topic more thoroughly investigated elsewhere in the context of mood disturbance,
anxiety, anger, depression, fatigue, and confusion in adults (e.g. Travis et al. 2018). Research
has also been carried out on the collective effects of Transcendental Meditation when prac-
ticed in a group, including economic and socio-political effects associated with students
(Fergusson 2016; Fergusson and Cavanaugh 2019) and adults (Hagelin et al. 1999).
Similarly, Barnes, Bauza, and Treiber (2003), using among other instruments the Spiel-
berger Anger Expression Scale, found that meditating 15- to 18-year-olds had fewer
absenteeisms, fewer school infractions and fewer days of suspension due to behavior-
related problems than did a control group. Studies associated with a range of physiologic
and psychosocial/behavioral effects of Transcendental Meditation for youths, such as sys-
tolic and diastolic blood pressure, anxiety and psychological disorders, have recently been
summarized by Black, Milam, and Sussman (2018), and other preliminary regional reports
from Latin America about the practice by trainee military and police officers in Brazil have
been published (e.g. Belham 2011; Roset and Schuler 2011).
Of most relevance to this study is the finding that Transcendental Meditation, when
practiced in a group, generates a greater benefit to participants and their environment
as would otherwise be the case if individuals meditated separately. It has previously
been established that such group practice has a measurable effect on the surroundings,
including an influence of harmony and coherence in localized communities and the
broader society (e.g. Fergusson 2016; Fergusson and Cavanaugh 2019) measured by
reductions in crime and accidents, and improved social health outcomes. Such a phenom-
enon, and the quantum mechanical field mechanisms behind it, have been explained in
detail by Orme-Johnson and Fergusson (2018). This phenomenon is said to be associated
with the so-called “field effects of consciousness,”which is enlivened in individuals and
their surroundings when people practice Transcendental Meditation, but which is
amplified when they do so in a group in the same place at the same time. [More interest-
ing in the present context of Perú, participants have also noted anecdotally that their
TAPUYA: LATIN AMERICAN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 5
personal experience is more pronounced when practicing Transcendental Meditation in a
group, and reports suggest the practice has a “multiplier”effect on the experience of prac-
titioners themselves, for example on their self-esteem (Fergusson, Ortiz Cabrejos, and
Bonshek 2020,2021a).]
However, this group phenomenon has never been tested when individuals practice
Transcendental Meditation separately but at a coordinated time while connected via an
online platform, as was the case for students in this study during a home isolation
period as a result of their school being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We can
thereby identify two main types of “group meditation”practice: condition (1) when indi-
viduals meditate in a group at the same time and in the same place (i.e. at school together
with their peers) and condition (2) when individuals meditate as a group at the same time
but in a different place (i.e. at home while online during isolation or quarantine). The latter
interactive meditation phenomenon has yet to be examined anywhere in the world. It is in
these two group meditation phenomena, and their relationship to health and school per-
formance in Perú, that this study is interested.
To better understand the possible impact of meditating under condition (2) on the health
and school performance of students, we, therefore, asked the following three research ques-
tions: RQ1: Do primary and secondary school students in home isolation in Perú report the
group practice of Transcendental Meditation is beneficial to their physical health, cognitive
health, emotional health, and school performance; if so, RQ2: How do these self-reported
experiences compare to matched students who are not in home isolation but meditate
together in a group at the same school under condition (1); and RQ3: Do demographics
of age, gender, or grade level moderate these home isolation reports?
2. Materials and method
2.1. Setting
As documented elsewhere, Transcendental Meditation has been incorporated into the
curricula of many primary and secondary schools in Perú (Fergusson et al. 2021b). Specifi-
cally, the present study was conducted at Institución Educativa Privada Prescott (IEPP), a
private school located in the city of Puno on Lake Titicaca in the southeast of the country.
Puno is home to the Aymara people, a continuous pre-Incan civilization living at 3800 m
on the Altiplano in the Andean highlands. With a total population of about 3.0 million
people (about 550,000 of whom live in Perú), the Aymara are distributed across eastern
Bolivia, southern Perú, and northern Chile, with the largest group concentrated in the
Lake Titicaca region where about 110,000 Aymara reside.
IEPP, established in 1992 to offer primary and secondary education, seeks to develop the
values of honesty, work, social sensitivity, responsibility towards the community, and respect
for family, homeland, and people of the world. Approximately 300 students attend the school,
with 2000 students having been instructed in Transcendental Meditation since 1998.
2.2. Participants
Participant data are summarized in Table 1. A total of one hundred and seven (N= 107)
primary and secondary students (Mage = 13.6 years) in two groups volunteered to
6L. FERGUSSON ET AL.
Table 1. Demographic data of number and percentage of students with means and standard deviations for age, gender, and grade level for Groups A and B.
Group Gender Grade levels
Girls Boys
5th Grade
primary
6th Grade
primary
1st Grade
secondary
2nd Grade
secondary
3rd Grade
secondary
4th Grade
secondary
5th Grade
secondary
A 27/50% 26/50% ——10/19% 13/24% 9/17% 11/21% 10/19%
Mean age
(SD)
14.4 (1.4) 14.3 (1.4) ——12.4 (0.52) 13.5 (0.52) 14.5 (0.53) 15.4 (0.52) 16.3 (0.67)
B 29/54% 25/46% 10/18% 9/17% 13/24% 8/15% 7/13% 7/13% —
Mean age
(SD)
13.4 (1.8) 12.4 (1.6) 10.2 (0.53) 11.1 (0.53) 12.8 (0.51) 13.6 (0.52) 14.1 (0.53) 15.1 (0.53) —
Total 56/52% 51/48% 10/9% 9/8% 23/22% 21/20% 16/15% 18/17% 10/9%
Mean age
(SD)
13.9 (1.6) 13.3 (1.5) 10.2 (0.53) 11.1 (0.53) 12.6 (0.52) 13.6 (0.52) 14.3 (0.53) 15.3 (0.53) 16.3 (0.67)
TAPUYA: LATIN AMERICAN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 7
participate in this study. Of these, 56 were girls (52%, Mage = 13.9 years) and 51 were
boys (48%, Mage = 13.3), distributed across seven grade levels. Ten participants (9%, M
age = 10.2) were in 5th grade primary, 9 participants (8%, Mage = 11.1) were in 6th
grade primary, 23 participants (22%, Mage = 12.6) were in 1st grade secondary, 21 partici-
pants (20%, Mage = 13.6) were in 2nd grade secondary, 16 participants (15%, Mage =
14.3) were in 3rd grade secondary, 18 participants (17%, Mage = 15.3) were in 4th
grade secondary, and 10 participants (9%, Mage = 16.3) were in 5th grade secondary.
In November 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants in Group A, composed
of students who meditated together in a group at school as part of the curriculum, con-
sisted of 53 students (Mage = 14.4 years), of whom 27 were girls (50%, Mage = 14.4 years)
and 26 were boys (50%, Mage = 14.3). Of this group, 10 participants (19%, Mage = 12.4)
were in 1st grade secondary, 13 participants (24%, Mage = 13.5) were in 2nd grade sec-
ondary, 9 participants (17%, Mage = 14.5) were in 3rd grade secondary, 11 participants
(21%, Mage = 15.4) were in 4th grade secondary, and 10 participants (19%, Mage =
16.3) were in 5th grade secondary.
In December 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic, participants in Group B, composed of
students who meditated together online at the same time while in home isolation, con-
sisted of 54 students (Mage = 12.9 years), of whom 29 were girls (54%, Mage = 13.4 years)
and 25 were boys (46%, Mage = 12.4). Of this group, 10 participants (18%, Mage = 10.2)
were in 5th grade primary, 9 participants (17%, Mage = 11.1) were in 6th grade primary,
13 participants (24%, Mage = 12.8) were in 1st grade secondary, 8 participants (15%, M
age = 13.6) were in 2nd grade secondary, 7 participants (13%, Mage = 14.1) were in 3rd
grade secondary, and 7 participants (13%, Mage = 15.1) were in 4th grade secondary.
Approximately 60% of all students in Group B were also in Group A.
2.3. Instrumentation
A paper-and-pencil test, completed anonymously, was developed and administered by
the second author. This Spanish-language questionnaire consisted of 52 statements,
requiring a self-reported rating on a 1–10 Likert scale, with 1–3 representing “definitely
disagree,”4–5“disagree,”6–7“agree,”and 8–10 “definitely agree.”Statements were clus-
tered into the following four categories: Factor 1 –physical health; Factor 2 –cognitive
health; Factor 3 –emotional health; and Factor 4 –school performance. These Factors
are consistent with the “focus areas”in Perú sanctioned by the Ministry of Education,
specifically developing elements of the primary and secondary curriculum to include
sports, critical thinking and decision making, management of emotions and stress, and
mental and emotional strength as they relate to academic performance (Adler 2016).
2.3.1. Factor 1 –physical health
Factor 1 (F1) included 13 statements related to physical health, with students asked to
rate their levels of tiredness, energy, sickness, quality of sleep, and athletic ability
because of practicing Transcendental Meditation. For example, statement #3 of F1 was:
“Tengo más energía”(I have more energy [as a result of practicing Transcendental Med-
itation]). The importance of physical health in primary and secondary school curricula has
been discussed elsewhere (Harris 2019), including its association with brain functioning
and cognitive health, such as memory, attention, and processing speed (Geertsen et al.
8L. FERGUSSON ET AL.
2016); practice of Transcendental Meditation has also been found to reduce stress and
improve physical health, and hence why it has been incorporated into the curricula of
many schools in 49 countries (Herani and Kumar 2015). Prior research indicated that in
520 Peruvian students, the normal score for F1 is M= 6.15, SD = 1.7 (Fergusson, Ortiz Cab-
rejos, and Bonshek 2022).
2.3.2. Factor 2 –cognitive health
Factor 2 (F2) included 10 statements related to cognitive health, with students asked to
rate their memory, comprehension, and problem-solving ability because of practicing
Transcendental Meditation. For example, statement #1 of F2 was: “Mejoró mi memoria”
(My memory has improved [as a result of practicing Transcendental Meditation]). Cogni-
tive health is associated with school performance (Liu et al. 2015) and evidence suggests
practice of Transcendental Meditation reduces symptoms of ADHD, improves executive
function, increases metacognition, and improves executive performance (Grosswald
et al. 2008). Prior research indicates that in 520 Peruvian students, the normal score for
F2 is M= 6.46, SD = 1.7 (Fergusson, Ortiz Cabrejos, and Bonshek 2022).
2.3.3. Factor 3 –emotional health
Factor 3 (F3) included 12 statements related to emotional health, with students asked to
rate their aggression, affective relations, friendliness, and happiness because of practicing
Transcendental Meditation. For example, statement #11 of F3 was: “Me siento más
confiado en lo que hago”(I feel more confident in what I do [as a result of practicing
Transcendental Meditation]). Research has established links between a child’s emotional
health and their social and psychological wellbeing (Thomson et al. 2017) and improved
emotional health, such as reduced depression, has been associated with practice of Trans-
cendental Meditation (e.g. Elder et al. 2014). Valosek et al. (2019) similarly found increased
social-emotional competencies in a second controlled study, and Bleasdale, Peterson, and
Nidich (2019) found reduced levels of anxiety, depression, stress, and anger in a group
who practiced Transcendental Meditation compared to a control. Prior research indicates
that in 520 Peruvian students, the normal score for F3 is M= 6.80, SD = 1.7 (Fergusson,
Ortiz Cabrejos, and Bonshek 2022).
2.3.4. Factor 4 –school performance
Factor 4 (F4) included 12 statements related to academic and general performance at
school, with students asked to rate their satisfaction and efficiency at school, getting
along with classmates, academic achievement and learning, and truancy because of prac-
ticing Transcendental Meditation. For example, statement #1 of F4 was: “Me siento satis-
fecho en mi colegio”(I feel satisfied in my school [as a result of practicing Transcendental
Meditation]). School performance is a multi-faceted measure (Ng, Huebner, and Hills
2015) and earlier research had identified Transcendental Meditation as a positive contri-
butor to learning and school performance (e.g. Nidich and Nidich 1989). Prior research
indicates that in 520 Peruvian students, the normal score for F4 is M= 6.75, SD = 1.7 (Fer-
gusson, Ortiz Cabrejos, and Bonshek 2022).
Development of statements used in the Factors was informed by prior international
research findings using the lines-of-inquiry and research protocol outlined by Fergusson
et al. (2019). The earlier work of Benn (2003) and Rosaen and Benn (2006)informedthe
TAPUYA: LATIN AMERICAN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 9
identification of key variables used in this study. Cronbach alpha coefficients computed for
scale reliability within Factors and Factors in relation to each other and to the overall health
and school performance construct (i.e. the combined score of all Factors) yielded internal
consistencies of F1 C
α
=0.52, F2 C
α
= 0.60, F3 C
α
= 0.55, and F4 C
α
= 0.62; C
α
= 0.81 for the
average reliability between Factors, and C
α
= 0.86 for reliability of all Factors combined.
Validity in the present study was based on the theoretical basis upon which practice of
Transcendental Meditation has been developed (e.g. Walton, Schneider, and Nidich 2005).
Construct and content validity were maintained by following procedures outlined by Fer-
gusson et al. (2019) when linking lines-of-inquiry with study questions and sources of evi-
dence. Moreover, prior research conducted in Perú by these authors using the same test
instrument suggests the 52-statement questionnaire, when tested on 91 (Fergusson, Ortiz
Cabrejos, and Bonshek 2021b) and 520 (Fergusson, Ortiz Cabrejos, and Bonshek 2022) Per-
uvian students at five metropolitan, regional, and rural primary and secondary schools, is a
valid form of instrumentation in this setting.
2.4. Procedure
Prior to the pandemic, students in Group A meditated together for 15 min at the start and
end of each school day as part of their curriculum at IEPP. During the pandemic, when
schools in Perú were closed and students studied from home while isolated, Group B con-
tinued to meditate for 15 min at the start and end of each school day as part of their cur-
riculum, but now meditation was not carried out together in a group at the same time and
in the same place but while participating online at a synchronized time. Completion of the
questionnaire took students approximately 15 min.
Group A completed the questionnaire in November 2019 during one session per grade
level as part of the students’normal class routine; Group B completed the questionnaire in
December 2020 while in home isolation. Students in Group B were given access to the
questionnaire via an online class study desk and were asked to complete the question-
naire and upload it to the study desk where it was accessed for analysis.
2.5. Data analysis
Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze these data. The number and
percentage of respondents, with means and standard deviations, who selected an
answer on the definitely disagree > definitely agree scale were recorded for each
Factor to answer RQs1 and 2. To answer RQs2 and 3, Factor scores were tested for differ-
ence on the combined scores of each Group using multivariate analysis of variance
(MANOVA) and a t-test for independent means. Tukey’spost hoc Honestly Significant
Differences (HSD, Q) were computed for differences between Groups on all variables
(Abdi and Williams 2010). These analyses were cross-tested for practical significance
using Cohen (d)effect sizes.
2.6. Meditation framework
In keeping with Allbritton and Heeter’s(2018) seven-element framework for researchers
of meditation, we can therefore summarize the present research design and intervention
10 L. FERGUSSON ET AL.
as: (1) Individual –primary and secondary students at IEPP aged between 10.2 and 16.3
years; (2) Object –individualized Transcendental Meditation (utilizing a specific mantra)
taught by a qualified instructor from Instituto Maharishi de Ciencia y Tecnología del
Perú; (3) Experience –meditating in a group for about 15 min while in a comfortable
sitting position at the beginning and end of the school day (Group A) and meditating indi-
vidually at home during a COVID-19 isolation period but still meditating together in group
for about 15 min in an online meditation session with peers (Group B); (4) Immediate
effects –based on the findings of extensive prior research, immediate effects of the med-
itation sessions for both Groups A and B can be predicted to have been: (A) experience of
restful alertness or Transcendental Consciousness; (B) a reduction in mental activity and
an increased state of restful alertness, indicated by an increase in EEG brainwave coherence;
(C) a decline in metabolic activity, including biochemical activity, resulting in a state of deep
physiological rest as indicated by reductions in breath rate, heart rate, blood pressure, and
biochemical markers related to stress, such as blood cortisol and 5HIAA, while maintaining
restful alertness; resulting in (D) after-meditation effects of reduced loneliness, anxiety,
depression, and PTSD symptomatology; (5) Engagement –regularity of meditating twice
per day in both the pre- and during-COVID-19 home isolation periods; and (6) Outcomes
–longer term improved mental and physical health, and greater interest in learning and
cooperation. According to Allbritton and Heeter (2018, 1), their meditation framework “sup-
ports (1) comparing different types of meditation interventions, and (2) understanding how
meditation interventions lead to effects.”
2.7. Ethics
The pre- and during-COVID-19 phases of this research were sanctioned in October 2019
and December 2020, respectively by the Research Ethics Approval Committee of Mahar-
ishi Vedic Research Institute (MVRI), in accord with both MVRI’sCode of Research Practice
and Procedure and the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research and were
conducted under approval numbers MVRI-2019-16 and MVRI-2020-10. The project was
countenanced in advance by the administration of IEPP and Instituto Maharishi de
Ciencia y Tecnología del Perú.
3. Results
Table 2 presents the number and percentage of respondents in Groups A and B who
selected an answer on the definitely disagree > definitely agree scale for each Factor.
Table 2 shows that 47% of participants (25 out of 53) and 56% of participants (30 out
of 53) in Group A agreed or definitely agreed that their physical health and cognitive
health, respectively, had benefited from the practice of Transcendental Meditation
before home isolation, while 100% of participants (54 out of 54) and 96% of participants
(52 out of 54) in Group B agreed or definitely agreed they had benefited from the practice
while in home isolation.
Table 2 also shows that 60% of participants (32 out of 53) and 57% of participants (30
out of 53) in Group A agreed or definitely agreed that their emotional health and school
performance respectively had benefited from the practice of Transcendental Meditation
before home isolation, while 96% of participants (52 out of 54) and 98% of participants
TAPUYA: LATIN AMERICAN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 11
(53 out of 54) in Group B agreed or definitely agreed they had benefited from the practice
while in home isolation.
These findings are further reflected in Table 3, which indicates the average responses
to all Factors for Group A was 6.38 and for Group B was 7.62, meaning students in both
Groups generally agreed with statements that Transcendental Meditation had benefited
their health and school performance, both before (Group A) and during (Group B) the
pandemic.
Table 3 also shows the average scores for participants in F1 Group A were 6.01 and
Group B were 7.55, for F2 Group A were 6.40 and Group B were 7.53, for F3 Group A
were 6.50 and Group B were 7.48, and for F4 Group A were 6.62 and Group B were
7.85. Scores on all Factors were normally distributed; skewness was parametric and kur-
tosis was mesokurtic (i.e. close to zero excess kurtosis): F1 = Skew[0.5], Kurt[–.01]; F2 =
Skew[0.1], Kurt[0.3]; F3 = Skew[0.3], Kurt[0.1]; and F4 = Skew[0.1], Kurt[0.0].
Results from MANOVA indicate the differences between these scores were statistically
significant for all Factors (for F1, F= 9.00, p< .00001; for F2, F= 6.03, p< .00001; for F3, F=
4.77, p< .00001; and for F4, F= 6.08, p< .00001). Similarly, the effect sizes between these
two data sets were: F1, d= 1.2; F2, d= 1.0; F3, d= 0.81; and F4, d= 0.71, with an average
overall effect size for all Factors of d= 0.93. An effect size of > 0.80 is considered “large”
Table 2. Number and percentage of respondents in each response category × Group × Factor.
Factor Response
Number and percentage
of respondents (number/
percentage definitely
disagree)
Number and
percentage of
respondents (number/
percentage disagree)
Number and
percentage of
respondents (number/
percentage agree)
Number and percentage
of respondents
(number/percentage
definitely agree)
Group A
1n=0,0% n= 28, 53% n= 23, 43% n=2, 4%
2n=1,2% n= 22, 42% n= 25, 47% n=5, 9%
3n=2,4% n= 19, 36% n= 25, 47% n= 7, 13%
4n=1,2% n= 22, 41% n= 19, 36% n= 11, 21%
Average n=1,2% n= 23, 43% n= 23, 43% n= 6, 12%
Group B
1n=0,0% n=0,0% n= 38, 70% n= 16, 30%
2n=0,0% n=2,4% n= 38, 70% n= 14, 26%
3n=0,0% n=2,4% n= 37, 69% n= 15, 27%
4n=0,0% n=1,2% n= 29, 54% n= 24, 44%
Average n=0,0% n=2,4% n= 35, 65% n= 17, 31%
Total Average N=1, 1% N= 12, 24% N= 29, 54% N= 12, 21%
Table 3. Means, standard deviations, MANOVA, and effect size results x Groups and Factors.
Factor
Group
MANOVA Effect Size
AB
M SD M SD F p d
1 6.01 1.0 7.55 0.80 9.00 <.00001 1.2
2 6.40 1.2 7.53 0.86 6.03 <.00001 1.0
3 6.50 1.4 7.48 0.94 4.77 <.00001 0.81
4 6.62 1.4 7.85 0.81 6.08 <.00001 0.71
Average 6.38 1.2 7.60 0.85 —— 0.93
12 L. FERGUSSON ET AL.
(Orwin 1983). The findings in Tables 2 and 3thereby answer RQ1 in the affirmative, and
indicate the results from Group B are statistically higher than Group A, thereby answering
RQ2.
Table 4 shows the means and SDs between age for each Factor, but no statistically sig-
nificant difference was observed (F= 0.33, p= .71). Tukey’s HSDs confirmed there was no
difference in scores between any one age group and any other age group (i.e. within
treatment variance), with ranges between Q= 0.34 (p= .96) and Q= 1.10 (p= .71). Table
4also shows the means and standard deviations between gender, but no difference in
scores was observed on any Factor, with ranges between t= 0.07 (p= .93) for F1 and t
= 1.5 (p= .12) for F4.
Table 4 finally shows the means and standard deviations between grade level for each
Factor, but no difference was observed (F= 0.52, p= .71). Tukey’s HSDs confirmed there
was no difference in scores between any one grade level and any other grade level,
with ranges between Q= 0.16 (p= .99) and Q= 1.92 (p= .65). Therefore, no moderating
effects on health and school performance by age, gender, or grade level could be attrib-
uted to these data, thereby answering RQ3 in the negative.
4. Discussion
This paper explored the relationship of primary and secondary school student experi-
ences while in home isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic to the group practice of
Transcendental Meditation at IEPP in Perú. The findings from 107 primary and secondary
students indicate that irrespective of whether students practiced Transcendental Medita-
tion in a group at the same time of day and in the same place (i.e. at school for Group A) or
at the same time of day but separately (i.e. while online in home isolation for Group B),
they report the practice has a salutary effect on health and performance at school. For
example, an average of 75% of students agreed or definitely agreed the practice of Trans-
cendental Meditation had a salutary effect on their physical health, cognitive health,
emotional health, and school performance.
However, scores on each of the Factors were significantly higher for students in Group
B during home isolation, 96% of whom reported salutary effects compared to 55% of
Group A who did so. Further, Group A scores on all Factors were more consistently
similar to normative data from Perú. Given Liu et al. (2020, 348) maintain “companionship
is essential for children’s normal psychological development and wellbeing,”it is possible
that being at home in isolation with family members provided a different type of compa-
nionship than at school, and as a consequence students felt more at ease and comforted
at home, and therefore less stressed and anxious than would normally have been the
case. According to Duan et al. (2020, 112), when “emotional support and spiritual gui-
dance from family members, teachers, as well as other significant peers and adults in
their lives could not be met due to home confinement …it adversely affected the
mental health of children and adolescents,”but this proposition does not appear to
have been the case with students at IEPP either before or during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier research had also indicated demographic variables, like age and gender, play a
role in health outcomes of young people during the pandemic, but such a role for demo-
graphic moderators of psychosocial experience was not observed in the present study.
Scores of physical health, cognitive health, emotional health, and school performance
TAPUYA: LATIN AMERICAN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 13
Table 4. Means, standard deviations, MANOVA, and Test of Difference for age (top), gender (middle), and grade level (bottom) by Factor.
Factor
Age
MANOVA10–11 (n= 19) 12–13 (n= 49) 14–15 (n= 39)
MSDMSDMSD F p
1 7.50 1.3 7.69 1.0 7.44 1.1 0.33 .71
2 7.55 1.0 7.55 0.8 7.54 0.5
3 7.29 1.2 7.60 1.0 7.61 1.3
4 7.83 1.1 7.92 1.0 7.75 1.0
Average 7.54 1.2 7.69 0.9 7.52 1.0
Factor
Gender
Test of differenceGirls (n= 56) Boys (n= 51)
MSDMSD t p
1 7.55 0.6 7.54 0.6 0.07 .93
2 7.47 0.7 7.61 0.7 0.6 .53
3 7.44 0.7 7.53 1.0 0.3 .72
4 7.69 0.6 8.03 1.5 1.5 .12
Average 7.53 0.7 7.67 0.9 ——
Factor
Grade Level
MANOVA
5th Grade
primary
6th Grade
primary
1st Grade
secondary
2nd Grade
secondary
3rd Grade
secondary
4th Grade
secondary
MSDMSDMSDMSDMSDMSD F p
1 7.62 1.2 7.38 1.4 7.51 0.8 7.88 1.3 7.33 1.0 7.55 0.7 0.52 .71
2 7.73 1.2 7.38 0.8 7.35 0.7 7.75 1.0 7.27 0.7 7.81 0.3
3 7.43 1.6 7.15 0.8 7.43 0.9 7.77 1.2 7.30 1.2 7.92 1.5
4 8.01 1.2 7.66 1.0 7.90 0.8 7.94 1.2 7.50 1.2 8.00 0.9
Average 7.69 1.3 7.39 1.0 7.54 0.8 7.83 1.2 7.35 1.0 7.82 0.8
14 L. FERGUSSON ET AL.
were unaffected by what were uniform student responses when co-varied for age, gender,
and grade level.
A series of design shortfalls can be identified with the present study. Self-selection
means participant reactivity cannot be ruled out. However, earlier findings from IEPP
and four other primary and secondary schools in Perú, which triangulate with the data
in this study, suggest that self-selection and participant reactivity did not play a major
part in these results (Fergusson, Ortiz Cabrejos, and Bonshek 2021a,2021b). The
absence of a control group is a limitation, although inclusion of the pre-pandemic com-
parison Group A composed of members who were matched but nevertheless were some-
what different to Group B ameliorates this limitation, but further research needs to be
conducted to rule out the impact of self-selection and participant reactivity as alternate
hypotheses.
Future research in Perú could also be conducted to more rigorously test the health and
school performance variables examined in this study, including not only their validity but
their stability over time. Certainly, the instrument has been informed by well-documented
and well-established theory, and parallel research using both the same instrument and
comparable instruments (such as the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory to measure
emotional intelligence with students who practiced Transcendental Meditation used by
Wendt et al. 2015) suggest acceptable levels of content validity, but further analysis
would test the veracity of the questions and Factors of the present instrument.
Nevertheless, based on these preliminary findings it is not unreasonable to tentatively
draw this conclusion: according to primary and secondary school students at Institución
Educativa Privada Prescott in Perú, the practice of Transcendental Meditation by students
who either meditate together in a group at school or in separate locations (effectively in a
group but in coordinated online meditation sessions at the same time) appears to posi-
tively impact health and school performance, and such impact was not adversely affected
as a result of home isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study, by examining the group effect of meditation during home isolation when
coordinated in online sessions, considers a new approach to group practice of Transcen-
dental Meditation by exploring its effect under conditions related to the COVID-19 pan-
demic. In this way, the present research explores new territory in the field of reseach
on the effect of Transcendental Meditation and adds additional insight to the existing
body of international research.
Disclosure statement
No conflicts of interest have been reported by the author(s).
Notes on contributors
Dr Lee Fergusson is Professor of Vedic Science, Education and Sustainability at Maharishi Vedic
Research Institute, and Program Director of the Master of Professional Studies (Research)
program at University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Lee is the author or editor of 12 books,
including Living Peace: The Contribution of Maharishi Vedic Science to Global Security (2020), Redefin-
ing Sustainability (2019), What a Waste: Studies in Anthropogenic Sources of Pollution (2016), and Red
Mud Futures: Repurposing One of the World’s Largest Industrial Waste By-products (2015). Lee’s
research on education, psychology, health, systems science, sustainability, and the environment
TAPUYA: LATIN AMERICAN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 15
has been published in over 100 international journals, including Asian Journal of Chemistry,History
of Education,Journal of Environmental and Analytical Toxicology,Journal of Environmental Quality,
Reflective Practice,Journal of Work-Applied Management,Perceptual and Motor Skills,Social Science
Perspectives Journal,Studies in Asian Social Science, and Higher Education Research and Development.
Javier Ortiz Cabrejos is a Peruvian architect, urban planner, educator, poet and lecturer in human
development. Javier has lectured at universities and institutions in over 30 countries and developed
educational programs for colleges and universities in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bogota, and Medel-
lin, as well as for schools and universities in Peruvian cities such as Lima, Callao, Cusco, Trujillo, Are-
quipa, Huancayo, Iquitos, and Puno, and has led Latin American projects in Consciousness-Based
Education in 60 schools for more than 50,000 students. Javier’s work has appeared in Ajos &
Zafiros,Imaginario del Arte, and Arquitextos, and he is one of the few experts in Vedic Architecture
in Latin America.
Dr Anna Bonshek is Professor of Art and Vedic Science at Maharishi Vedic Research Institute in Aus-
tralia. Anna is a contributing editor to the 60-volume series Consciousness, Literature and the Arts,
published by Brill in the Netherlands, and adjunct Associate Professor in Vedic Science and Art at
Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. Anna is the author of two widely cited books,
Mirror of Consciousness: Art, Creativity and Veda, (2000) and The Big Fish: Consciousness as Structure,
Body and Space (2009), she is the editor of many other books, including The Unmanifest Canvas:
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on Art, Creativity and Perception, and has published research in international
journals, such as Education and Research Perspectives,Higher Education Research and Development,
College Student Journal, and Journal of Instructional Psychology. Anna is a founding member of
Maharishi Vastu Alliance, an international alliance of Vedic architects and town planners.
ORCID
Lee Fergusson http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1041-3760
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