Your Voice, Your Tamariki, Your Classroom:

Help AUT Deepen Understanding of Pause Breathe Smile’s Impact

An invitation for new teachers taking part in Pause Breathe Smile in 2026

Teachers who are beginning Pause Breathe Smile training or bringing the programme into their classrooms in 2026 are warmly invited to take part in an independent research study led by Auckland University of Technology (AUT). Your participation will help deepen understanding of how mindfulness supports student wellbeing, emotional regulation, and classroom calm across Aotearoa. The insights gathered in this study will build on the existing body of published research and contribute to a robust evidence base for NZ schools.


Educators teaching Year 2 – Year 8 are encouraged to participate.

What is the purpose of this study?

This research aims to deepen understanding of:

  • The impact of the programme on emotional wellbeing, self-regulation and gratitude
  • How one trained cohort compares with a ‘non-Pause Breathe Smile’ classroom environment in the same year level.
  • Help strengthen the evidence-base for mindfulness in education and support better outcomes for tamariki nationwide.
  • Teacher questionnaires.

What will participation involve?

  • Questionnaires about teacher wellbeing before and after delivering Pause Breathe Smile
  • Student questionnaires completed in class, using wellbeing and socio-emotional measures (before starting Pause Breathe Smile and after completing the first term with it).
  • Full support provided by the AUT research team for administering the student questionnaires
  • Koha for participating teachers
    • Gift vouchers
    • Classroom incentives for Tamariki participation
  • Flexibly scheduled 45-min Zoom interview outside class time to ask teachers about their experience delivering Pause Breathe Smile.

Participation is flexible, time-considerate, and designed to fit realistically alongside teaching commitments.

Who can take part?

You are eligible if you are:

  • A teacher working with children between Year 2 and Year 8, teaching in a classroom in Aotearoa New Zealand
  • Completing Pause Breathe Smile training in 2026 or implementing the programme in your classroom for the first time (children have not previously been taught this programme)
  • You are able to find a teacher in your school who will not be delivering Pause Breathe Smile to their class, but would participate in same classroom surveys mentioned above. These teachers will also receive classroom incentives and gift vouchers.

 

You do not need prior experience in mindfulness—just a willingness to share your observations and insights.

Why your voice matters

As someone directly working with tamariki, your real-world classroom experience provides powerful evidence. Your contribution will help:
  • Build a stronger picture of the programme’s benefits
  • Inform future improvements
  • Support national wellbeing efforts for children
  • Contribute to evidence-based educational practice in Aotearoa

How to register your interest

Use the form below to express interest, and the AUT team will follow up with next steps and additional study information.

Name

Privacy and confidentiality

All research is conducted ethically through AUT and follows strict privacy requirements. All teacher and student data will remain confidential, and any published results will be anonymised.

Thank you

By taking part, you’re helping advance knowledge on how mindfulness can nurture calm, resilience, kindness, and focus among tamariki—supporting wellbeing across our classrooms and communities.