Exploring the Awareness and Implementation of Mindfulness and Flow and Its Role in the Lived Experiences of a Sample of Urban High School Students in China: A Qualitative Study
Author: Yuxuan (Shelley) Wang
Shanghai Pinghe School, Shanghai, China
Abstract
Flow describes the state when a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment. As our society grows more complicated these days, people find it necessary yet difficult to concentrate or relax. Accordingly, flow becomes more and more important. This study intends to explore whether the spread of term flow influences high schoolers in their perception and what determines their flow experiences. This study includes their definition of flow, their thoughts of what facilitates and hinders flow, their personal experiences of flow, their perception on the relationship between social media and flow. This study relies on interviews and is a qualitative study. 5 students from a Chinese international school in Shanghai, either rising junior or senior, participated in the study, while the study also reviews recent literature on students’ flow experiences, including those of middle schoolers and college students. Conversations are transcribed verbatim and analyzed. According to the results, the students shared common positive attitudes to their flow experiences and the term ‘flow’ is wide-spread among teenagers. By applying the perception of students on what hinders and facilitates flow, the school may be able to create a more efficient environment for students’ education.