Health and School Performance: A n Explorato ry Quantitative Study of S chool Children in Huay Huay , Peru

Authors

  • Lee Fergusson Maharishi International University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1041-3760

    M.A., Ph.D. from Maharishi International University - U.S.A. Professor of Vedic Science, Education and Sustainability at Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, and Program Director of the Master of Professional Studies (Research) at University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Lee is the author and editor of 12 books, including Living Peace: The Contribution of Maharishi Vedic Science to Global Security (2020), Redefining 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 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.
    Email: lee@maharishivedicresearch.org
  • Javier Ortiz Cabrejos Maharishi Vedic University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9332-0809

    Postgraduate in Vedic Architecture and Urban Planning at Maharishi Vedic University. Graduated in Sustainable Architecture from the University of Salamanca, Spain. Independent Researcher and Director of "Instituto Maharishi de Ciencia y Tecnología del Perú". Peruvian architect, urban planner, educator, poet and lecturer in human development. He 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 Medellin, as well as for schools and universities in Peruvian cities such as Lima, Callao, Cusco, Trujillo, Arequipa, 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 de Arte, and Arquitextos, and he is one of the few experts in Vedic Architecture in Latin America.
    Email: javierortizc1@gmail.com
  • Anna Bonshek Maharishi Vedic Research Institute https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2138-2047

    Ph.D., MA, Higher Diploma, BA (Hons). Professor of Art and Vedic Science at Maharishi Vedic Research Institute in Australia. 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. Author of two widely cited books, Mirror of Consciousness: Art, Creativity and Veda, and The Big Fish: Consciousness as Structure, Body and Space, 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. Founding member of Maharishi Vastu Alliance, an international alliance of Vedic architects and town planners.
    Email: anna@maharishivedicresearch.org

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18800/educacion.202102.004

Keywords:

Peru, Health, School performance, Transcendental meditation

Abstract

A paucity of data in school children generally, and in non-Western schools specifically, related to health, school performance, and practice of meditation necessitated this study. The fact that almost no prior research of this type has been conducted in Latin America makes the present investigation especially worthwhile. This mostly quantitative study was carried out with 91 randomly selected school children, ranging in age from 11 to 16 years, in a remote Peruvian town in the central Andean mountains called Huay-Huay. Using a 47-question, paper-and-pencil instrument to ask students about their experience with meditation in four categories (i.e., physical health, cognitive health, emotional health, and school performance), this observational study considered whether or not the practice of meditation had a self-reported impact on student personal health and academic life, and if so to what extent. Data indicate that a majority of children in Huay-Huay reported benefits across all measures, and these were apparently stronger when students practiced meditation more regularly. Qualitative reports support these conclusions. Gender and grade level did not appear to influence this outcome.

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Published

2021-09-27

How to Cite

Fergusson, L., Ortiz Cabrejos, J., & Bonshek, A. (2021). Health and School Performance: A n Explorato ry Quantitative Study of S chool Children in Huay Huay , Peru. Educacion, 30(59), 65–89. https://doi.org/10.18800/educacion.202102.004

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 59 (2021)

Section

Monográfico

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