고려대학교

초록/요약

Mindfulness, which indicates a practice of conscious awareness, is currently gaining much attention in educational fields as it shows promising potential to foster college learners’ mental health as well as academic performance. The challenges learners increasingly face such as heavy academic demands, social pressure, and emotional stress have led to growing interests in mindfulness-based interventions, or MBIs. The present study aims to navigate both potential benefits and challenges of incorporating MBIs in higher education. For this purpose, a comprehensive literature review that consisted of studies published between 2020 and 2024 was conducted, examining the impact that mindfulness approach can result in on academic performance, mental health, and the overall well-being of learners in college. The key findings of the study show that MBIs appeared to be effective in reducing negative emotions such as stress, depression, anxiety, and in improving college learners’ cognitive function, attention, motivation, and academic performance in general. However, relevant challenges and limitations still remind, including meeting the adequate need for qualified instructors, potential harms that its misuse could cause, and lack of long-term research conducted on the MBI effectiveness. Taking these factors account and developing evidence-based strategies in mindfulness would be necessary to reach the full potential of MBI implemented in higher education. Relevant implications are discussed.