The Tapping Evidence Base
Multiple Conditions

Daily meditation versus Emotional Freedom Techniques: A pilot Australian primary school trial

Stapleton, P., Douglas, A., Blanchard, M. D. · International Online Journal of Primary Education · 2025

Controlled trial 👥 172 participants ⚖️ vs. Daily mindfulness meditation (active comparator; non-randomized allocation - one class assigned to EFT for logistical reasons) Preliminary ✓ Source-checked 📍 Australia
In plain English. Five- and six-year-olds who tapped along with a short video every morning improved at managing their emotions and behavior over three weeks - tracking right alongside classmates doing daily meditation.

What they found

172
Five- and six-year-olds who tapped along with a short video every morning improved at managing their emotions and behavior over three weeks - tracking right…

In a 3-week teacher-delivered classroom pilot, self-regulation improved across both daily EFT tapping and daily mindfulness meditation, with no significant difference between the two trajectories; neither intervention shifted happiness or life satisfaction over this short window.

How the study worked

Who took part Year 1 students aged 5-6 at two Australian primary schools (baseline: meditation n=130, EFT tapping n=42; unbalanced groups with attrition to 83/23 by week 3); subset of a larger multi-school meditation trial (n=172)
What they did In a controlled trial, a tapping group was compared against a separate comparison group.
Compared with Daily mindfulness meditation (active comparator; non-randomized allocation - one class assigned to EFT for logistical reasons)
Measured with Me and My Feelings Questionnaire (self-regulation), Single-item happiness scale, Cantril Ladder (adapted, life satisfaction)

⭐ Why this study matters

Tapping holding its own next to an established school meditation program is a strong parent- and teacher-facing message - stated carefully as 'comparable trajectories', not superiority.

💡 Where this could help

Kids Hub - first early-childhood (age 5-6) record in the dataset; supports Tapping Together and classroom-use messaging.

🔬 What to study next

The natural next step: longer-term follow-up to see how durable the benefit is, and an active ('sham tapping') control to isolate what's doing the work.

The full record

DesignControlled trial
Participants172 people
PopulationYear 1 students aged 5-6 at two Australian primary schools (baseline: meditation n=130, EFT tapping n=42; unbalanced groups with attrition to 83/23 by week 3); subset of a larger multi-school meditation trial
Comparison groupDaily mindfulness meditation (active comparator; non-randomized allocation - one class assigned to EFT for logistical reasons)
Outcome measuresMe and My Feelings Questionnaire (self-regulation), Single-item happiness scale, Cantril Ladder (adapted, life satisfaction)
JournalInternational Online Journal of Primary Education
Year2025
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / Tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Stapleton, P., Douglas, A., & Blanchard, M. D. (2025). Daily meditation versus Emotional Freedom Techniques: A pilot Australian primary school trial. International Online Journal of Primary Education. https://doi.org/10.55020/iojpe.1670052

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/Tapping.

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Multiple Conditions 172 participants WHAT THEY FOUND In a 3-week teacher-delivered classroompilot, self-regulation improved across bothdaily EFT tapping and daily… Controlled trial · 172 participants Stapleton · 2025 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com