To determine if the practice of moral ethical codes (yama & niyama) effect crafting creativity and authentic happiness in children between 8-12 years of age

Abstract

This dissertation is the outcome of interventions that were administered in two schools to children between 7 and 12 years of age. The interventions were in the domains of moral and ethical interventions and conduct, pro-social priming, and character building. The research was conducted with an explicit intent to provide moral and ethical interventions to the children to help build character and social skills. These moral and ethical interventions were the yama and niyama, and the creative kindness principles from Yoga and Buddhist Psychological frameworks and to observe and analysis the phenomenological implications of such interventions on the children. This research was also undertaken due to the personal motivation of the researcher to reinforce a neglected yet important part of children’s education. The transmission of the pedagogically crafted interventions for this home-grown program being researched was with the help of using storytelling, focus, mindfulness, relaxation exercises, group activities, and discussions. Sets of data were collected and tabulated from a sample size of 358 children (out of 360 children) in eight classes from five questionnaires administered at intervals, during the course of the interventions, administered to them. eThis is a mixed method research study with a convergent design incorporating both an experiment and social science framework and using Participative Action Research (PAR) with a goal to prompt social change by instilling clarity of views on happiness and creative kindness in these children. The research design opted out of having a control group and instead used a quasi-experimental framework instead of a control group, and it collected retrospective data or postest data with the response shift mechanism (Sage Edge 2019, Sage Research 2020). The research is aligned to global psychological models of Piaget (Life Span and Moral Development Theory), Kohlberg (Stages of Moral Development), Bronfenbrenner (Bio-Ecological Frameworks) and Vygotsky (Socio Cultural Theory and Zone of Proximal Development). The mixed research study with convergent design showed clearly that post the interventions the children had clarity on what are authentic happy or sadness, and creative kindness They also showed positive shifts in appreciating and feeling more happiness and less sadness. The study also showed most children in the program enjoyed the program. They were able to relate with others, felt happier, and were in less trouble in school. Most of them wanted to practice what they learnt, for five days and more in a week, and it was easier for them to follow moral and ethical codes from the yama and niyama clusters of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and express kindness and altruism to others as prescribed both in the yoga sutras and Buddhist practices. The findings were positive in terms of the children’s clarity of what made them happy, or sad and upset, and they were able to gain clarity of preferences in moral and ethical practices. However, the duration of one academic year of interventions needs to extend for a longer period over several academic terms to establish a robust familiarity of the children with this values-based program, and for it to turn into a habit-forming process. Therefore, to build character and enhance pro-social interactions of the students with others the interventions need to be continued over a longer period of time in order to bring about a change in their cognitive capacities and behaviours and make a sustained impact within their immediate circles of influence and in society. The clusters of moral and ethical codes and their effects are provided in the yamas and niyamas. These effects have deeper ramifications in the lives of individual children as well as in the community they live in. Moral functioning is an aspect of both moral emotions (expression) and moral grammar or a moral process (Sunar, 2009). Children can apply these clusters of moral expressions and processes to build character. These can be affected by using of moral values in three areas (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, & Park, 1997). The first is autonomously i.e., practicing morality independent of others and purely based on one’s personal conviction. The second application in the practice of morality arises from benefiting both oneself and others as members of a community. It can be coloured by socio-political hues (Boehm 2000). The third domain that can harness moral behaviour can also arise from the practice of a religion.

This research focussed on the practice of morals and ethics to harness autonomous personal practice arising out of personal conviction, and the practice of morality arises from benefiting both oneself and others as members of a community. Religion as an aspect of practicing religion was kept out and not used. This research was therefore also inspired to generate empathetic reciprocity in children (Sunar, 2009) that rise from a wellspring of mirror neurons (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004; Rizzolatti, Fogassi, & Gallese, 2001).