Mindfulness-based interventions and stress-reducing strategies can lead to improvements not only in teachers鈥� social and emotional well-being but also in instructional climate and student engagement, according to a out of the University of Virginia鈥檚 Curry School of Education.
For the study, researchers examined the effects of teachers and students participating in 鈥淐ultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education鈥� , a mindfulness-based professional-development program designed to help teachers reduce stress and burnout.
Patricia Jennings, associate professor of elementary education and lead author on the study, presented the findings at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in April. (See slides below.)
鈥淭oday, many teachers are not well-prepared for the social and emotional demands of the classroom,鈥� Jennings said, according to a . 鈥淲hile spending a great amount of cognitive energy on the content of their lessons, teachers are also constantly managing a classroom of students, some of whom have difficulty attending to learning activities, sitting still or getting along with their peers.鈥�
The study is based on a classroom model theory positing that teachers鈥� well-being promotes better teacher-student relationships, effective classroom management skills, and effective social-emotional learning.
The CARE program consisted of self-care and emotion-awareness instruction, mindfulness and stress-reduction practices, and empathy exercises, with applications to teaching explored through discussion and role plays.
The study followed two groups of 36 New York City public elementary schools鈥攅ight in the 2012-13 academic school year and 28 in 2013-14鈥攊ncluding 5,036 students and 224 teachers split into an intervention group and a control group. The teachers in the intervention group participated in a series of five six-hour sessions with individualized phone coaching in between over two weeks.
Researchers found that the teachers who participated in CARE were more emotionally supportive and demonstrated greater sensitivity to students than those in the control group. Teachers made better use of instructional time, which in turn made students more productive and involved in learning activities. The are based largely on teacher self-report questionnaires, observational ratings of teachers and classrooms, teacher reports on students, and students鈥� school records.
鈥淭eachers who are able to reduce the level of stress they are experiencing have an improved ability to recognize a student鈥檚 perspective and how their own judgments or biases are impacting their reaction to a student,鈥� Jennings said. 鈥淭he findings definitely suggest that mindfulness-based interventions can have 鈥榙ownstream鈥� effects on the classroom environment and on the students.鈥�
To follow up on the study, Jennings is currently working on a two-year analysis of teacher outcomes and sustainability. For her next project, she wants to bring the CARE program to additional locations and make it adaptable for special populations, such as caregivers and special education teachers.
presentation by .
Photo by Flickr user ; licensed under .
More on teacher mindfulness:
- Teachers, Take Care of Yourselves
- Five Ways to Eliminate Teacher Burnout
- How to Avoid Burnout and Maintain Your Teaching Groove
- Mindful Moments: Teaching Students Self-Awareness
- Helping Teachers Get Healthier
- Social-Emotional Needs Entwined with Students鈥� Learning, Security