A canvas for change : exploring art-based mindfulness in Québec special education

Abstract

Students with learning disabilities (LDs) face challenges that extend beyond academics, experiencing higher rates of depression, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation compared to their neurotypical peers. Despite these well-documented challenges, research on mindfulness-based interventions for this population remains limited, and students with LDs are frequently excluded from such studies. This exploratory qualitative study examined the perceived benefits and challenges of implementing the Holistic Arts-Based Mindfulness Program (HAP) with eight students (ages 14-16) with LDs in a grade nine Modified Academic Pathway classroom in Québec. The study employed a qualitative exploratory design grounded in Group Work Theory. Data collection included pre- and post-intervention semi-structured interviews with students and teachers, field observations, participants’ artwork, and the Self-Compassion Scale Youth Version (SCS-Youth). Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2019) reflexive thematic analysis. Findings revealed that students entered the program with virtually no understanding of mindfulness, an absence of intentional self-regulation strategies, multiple daily challenges, and pervasive harsh self-judgment. Following the six-week intervention, students demonstrated genuine engagement and meaningful internal shifts in emotional awareness, including recognition that difficult emotions could coexist with positive experiences and that naming feelings to others represented a valuable regulation strategy. However, these changes had not yet transferred to observable classroom behaviours, and teachers reported no measurable changes in students’ focus, emotions, or behaviour at school. The findings highlight both the promise of arts-based mindfulness interventions for students with LDs and the realistic limitations of brief programs in producing lasting behavioural change without sustained support and environmental reinforcement. Implications for educational practice, program development, and future research are discussed.