Impact of adding mindfulness practices to a bachelor of social work direct practice course

Abstract

This study sought to determine whether mindfulness increased or decreased for Year 4 Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students. Twenty-four participants received a brief mindfulness practice each week at the start of class and completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in the first and last class. Results showed a decrease from pre-test to post-test on the non-reactivity to inner experience facet of the scale. In addition, in a post-test, those participants who came to the BSW programme from secondary school had an overall higher score than those participants who came to the programme from community college. Moreover, participants who had no prior practice in mindfulness and those who did not practice mindfulness during their practicum saw an increase in scores. These findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are offered. Keywords: Mindfulness, BSW students, practices, social work, course.