Children and youth are experiencing higher levels of stress (Stapp & Lambers, 2020) and as mental health challenges continue to grow (Smith et al., 2024) children are more susceptible to stress and increased expectations to succeed in school (Stapp & Lambers, 2020). Compounding this problem is children’s elevated exposure to the internet, media, and communication technologies (Hagen & Nayar, 2014), as they continue to recover from disruptions to social isolations and learning routines in response to the global pandemic, which has had a significant impact on children’s mental health, including the Kids Help Phone receiving a 42% increase in calls related to stress during this time (Gadermann et al., 2021). More than one-third of youth experienced mental health challenges during the pandemic, with historically marginalized populations and youth living in poverty at greater risk for deleterious mental health outcomes (Smith et al., 2024). Research continues to demonstrate that yoga and mindfulness can be a helpful tool in negating mental health challenges that children and youth continue to face (Broderick & Metz, 2009; Butzer et al., 2016; MacPherson & Rockman, 2023) and increasing their well-being, a key indicator of their academic success (Holmes, 2024; Shanktland et al., 2024). A school-based yoga program ensures that all students have equal access to practices that support physical, mental, and emotional health, fostering holistic well-being. Knowing how to best integrate these practices supports teachers in cultivating a holistic pedagogy that fosters well-being and supports their students with tools to build resilience, manage stress, succeed in school, and thrive in the world.
The aim of this research, Creating Opportunities for Well-being in the Classroom: Understanding Teachers’ and Students’ Experiences of Yoga in Schools with Historically Marginalized Populations, is to explore the impact of a school-based yoga program for upper elementary school teachers and their students in schools with populations with historically marginalized groups and students experiencing economic exclusion and poverty. These populations traditionally experience opportunity barriers which are reflected in their academic achievement. A second aim is to understand how teachers working with these populations can be best supported in successfully integrating these practices of well-being into the classroom. Currently in Nova Scotia, yoga is offered as a physical education credit course in grade 11 (Yoga 11, a government-approved course in K–12 school systems).
This research responds to the call for yoga to be introduced to students at an earlier age (Robinson & Berezowski, 2016), so that they can access tools that may help them reduce stress, develop self-awareness, self-confidence, and balance throughout their development. Guided by critical narrative inquiry, the core focus of this research is shaped by teacher and student participants’ lived experiences and personal narratives, informed on how they have been informed by time, place, and sociality contexts.
The objectives of the study are to:

·      Determine how a school-based yoga program may impact upper elementary school teachers’ and students’ physical, mental, and social-emotional well-being.

·      Understand what background and training (if any) teachers need to successfully integrate yoga into their classroom.

The questions that will guide this research are:

1.     What are the experiences of upper elementary school teachers teaching a school-based yoga program in a school with historically marginalized populations? 

2.     What are the experiences of upper elementary students participating in a school-based yoga program in a school with historically marginalized populations? 

3.   What do the participants (teachers and students) learn and understand about themselves (physical, mental, and social-emotional awareness) by participating in daily yoga lessons?

Critical narrative inquiry will be the methodology used to best understand the teacher and student participants’ experiences of the yoga program, while also considering how their experiences have been shaped by social, political, economic and cultural values that have been crystallized over time (Pino Gavidia & Adu, 2022). Critical narrative inquiry focuses on how humans experience the world and how they share these experiences through stories (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990) and is influenced by Critical Race Theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). The researcher alternates between their own practice of reflexology and the participants’ interpretative knowledge shaped by social, political, economic and cultural values that have been crystallized over time (Pino Gavidia & Adu, 2022). This interplay is particularly important where inequities exist and can be highlighted by three commonplaces (temporality, sociality, and place), distinct characteristics of narrative inquiry (Clandinin et al., 2007). A critical lens is integral in understanding how to optimize the implementation of a school-based yoga program in schools with vulnerable populations. This research will use a recursive process of data collection (interviews, observations, documents) for a period of 12 weeks. Three teacher participants and six student participants in Nova Scotia from two schools in one urban regional centre will be invited to participate in a school-based yoga program. The yoga sessions will include a breathing practice, followed by the reading of a children’s book, and then a yoga practice incorporating elements of the story, using mindful movements and breathing postures to bring the story to life. Participants will journal weekly and be observed and interviewed three times throughout the research period. Data will be collected using three methods: teacher and student journals, classroom observations, and individual interviews. This research aims to address the barriers (e.g. cost, scheduling, transportation) that historically marginalized populations and students experiencing economic exclusion and poverty often experience, and to contribute to the gaps in the research; suggesting that grade 11 is too late to offer these wellness tools to students. In addition, the intention is to gather evidence to support mental health and well-being for teachers and their students, while highlighting the need for the inclusion of yoga as part of the elementary curriculum in Nova Scotia, and throughout Canada.

Research continues to suggest that yoga increases children and youth’s well-being by helping them concentrate, balance their emotions, develop mind-body awareness and self-regulation, improve their physical fitness, and reduce the high levels of stress that they are experiencing (Butzer et al., 2016; Stapp & Lambers, 2020; MacPherson & Rockman, 2023). In addition, children who have higher levels of well-being demonstrate high levels of academic achievement (Holmes, 2024; Shankland et al, 2024). Given these findings, integrating yoga into the classroom can be an optimal way to contribute to teachers’ and students’ well-being. However, most yoga programs offered in schools are extra-curricular, which creates barriers for some students (e.g., related to cost, time, transportation). There is little research on when or how to skillfully integrate these practices into the classroom. The timing of this research is pivotal in contributing to yoga and its impact on teachers’ and students’ well-being and academic success. It answers the calls of others to research the possibilities of school-based yoga programs with groups who have historically lacked access. For example, Khalsa (2021) highlighted the importance of engaging in research so that yoga can transition from extra-curricular to school-based programs to ensure accessibility. Further, Robinson and Berezowski (2016) suggested the development of a yoga curriculum for younger students. This research aims to contribute to these gaps. We anticipate a reduction in stress and burnout, an increase in feeling calm, confident, and compassionate (towards themselves and others). In addition, we predict an increase in positive feeling and thinking, improved teacher efficacy and positive teacher-student relationships, along with effective integration of yoga into daily routines. Finally, we predict this research will support teachers in cultivating a holistic pedagogy that supports theirs and their students’ well-being.

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