Anne Katahoire

Effectiveness of a SEL/mindfulness program on Northern Ugandan children

By Anne Katahoire

This research was designed to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a social and emotional learning (SEL) mindfulness-based school program (MindUp) for children in post-conflict Northern Uganda. In study one, we culturally adapted and implemented MindUp with 5th and 6th graders. Over a two-year period, significant decreases in children’s self-reported depressive symptoms and increases in empathic concern were found. In a second, quasi-experimental study, we compared 5th and 6th graders from a school in which MindUp was implemented to children in a similar school without the program. MindUp children reported significant decreases in anger, hostility, and rejection; were reported by their teachers to be higher in positive affect and empathic behaviors; and showed greater increases in academic grades over the duration of the program in contrast to children who did not receive MindUp. These results are discussed with regard to the educational implications of the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing MindUp in other schools within Uganda and beyond. © 2020, © 2020 International School Psychology Association.