Mindfulness in Liberal Arts Field Immersions: Enhancing Civic Engagement and Experiential Learning

Abstract

Background: In South Asian contexts, several countries have developed liberal arts education at the undergraduate level based on western models. Field immersion comprises an important component of these programs to bolster learning. Mindfulness interventions can potentially enhance learner productivity on various domains. Purpose: To study whether mindfulness training (MT) sessions offered online can augment field immersion learning in domains of civic engagement, experiential learning, and experiencing, for undergraduate students in liberal arts disciplines. Methodology/Approach: A quasi-experimental pre- and posttest study was conducted with undergraduate students in liberal arts disciplines across four South Asian cities. Findings/Conclusions: Participants of the MT sessions reported higher scores on civic engagement attitudes and behaviors, experiential learning, and experiencing vis-à-vis the control group. Posttest scores were higher for female students, those who lived with their natal families or in campus hostels, who attended 25–48 (>50%) MT sessions, and completed 25–48 MT homework sessions. Implications: MT improves field immersion learning by enhancing civic engagement attitudes and behaviors, experiential learning in realms of environment, active engagement, relevance and utility, and meaningful experiencing as a higher-order outcome. Some refinements would be needed for male students and those residing as paying guests or in non-campus hostels or rented flats.