Mindfulness training and reductions in teacher stress and burnout: Results from two randomized, waitlist-control field trials.

By R. Roeser, K. Schonert-Reichl, Amishi P. Jha, Margaret D. M. Cullen, Linda S. Wallace, R. Wilensky, Eva Oberle, K. Thomson, Cynthia L. Taylor, J. Harrison. 2013

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The effects of randomization to mindfulness training (MT) or to a waitlist-control condition on psychological and physiological indicators of teachers’ occupational stress and burnout were examined in 2 field trials. The sample included 113 elementary and secondary school teachers (89% female) from Canada and the United States. Measures were collected at baseline, post-program, and 3-month followup; teachers were randomly assigned to condition after baseline assessment. Results showed that 87% of teachers completed the program and found it beneficial. Teachers randomized to MT showed greater mindfulness, focused attention and working memory capacity, and occupational self-compassion, as well as lower levels of occupational stress and burnout at post-program and follow-up, than did those in the control condition. No statistically significant differences due to MT were found for physiological measures of stress. Mediational analyses showed that group differences in mindfulness and selfcompassion at post-program mediated reductions in stress and burnout as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression at follow-up. Implications for teaching and learning are discussed.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/cb7a3f3fb57e4bd69b35b2fd434d0e5c8bb929a8

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In Clinical Psychology

Citations in the corpus

A Mindfulness-Based Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum for School-Aged Children: The MindUP Program (2016, neutral): “…examined the implementation and efﬁ cacy of MindUP among teachers who participated in a mindfulness-based SEL program designed speciﬁ cally for educators— Stress Management And Relaxation Training-in-Education (SMART; see Roeser, this volume; Roeser et al., 2013 )—compared to those who did not.”
Mindfulness and Teachers’ Coping in the Classroom: A Developmental Model of Teacher Stress, Coping, and Everyday Resilience (2016, background): “provide some evidence that such training can indeed shift teachers’ reliance on different families of coping with stressors at work (Roeser et al., 2013; Taylor et al., 2014).”
Teacher Stress: What It Is, Why It's Important, How It Can be Alleviated (2016, background): “In addition to supportive structures, teachers can use mindful meditation, acceptance, and selfcompassion (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 2012; Herman & Reinke, 2015; Kabat-Zinn, 2005; Roeser et al., 2013), as well as a growth mindset (Dweck, 2006).”
The Evidence Base for How We Learn: Supporting Students' Social, Emotional, and Academic Development. Consensus Statements of Evidence from the Council of Distinguished Scientists. (2017, neutral): “…Walton, & Eberhardt, 2016 xvii Raver et al., 2008; Jones, Bailey, & Jacob, 2014 xviii Gregory & Fergus, 2017 xix Jennings et al., 2011, 2013; Roeser et al., 2013 xx Bouffard, 2017 xxi Klassen & Chiu, 2010 xxii Heckman, J. J., Stixrud, J., & Urzua, S., 2006; Cunha, F., Heckman, J., &…”
The impact of mindfulness on the wellbeing and performance of educators: A systematic review of the empirical literature (2017, background): “(2013) Teachers RCT 25 25 Cultivating awareness & resilience in education ** 1 month (2 w’end) Wait-list PI < time pressure (p = .025). PI > health (p = .004), mindfulness (p = .003), & self-efficacy (p = .002). PI >< negative affect, positive affect. Klatt et al. (2009) University employees RCT 22 ”
Examining Ways That a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Reduces Stress in Public School Teachers: a Mixed-Methods Study (2016, background): “Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been suggested as one kind of professional development program that may foster these types of skills (Roeser et al. 2013).”
Nurturing Nature: How Brain Development Is Inherently Social and Emotional, and What This Means for Education (2019, positive): “…them regulate emotions; and develops greater social-emotional competence, sense of self-efficacy and well-being, and emotional support for students (Benn, Akiva, Arel, & Roeser, 2012; Crain, Schonert-Reichl, & Roeser, 2017; Jennings, Frank, Snowberg, Coccia, & Greenberg, 2013; Roeser et al., 2013).”
Advancing the Science and Practice of Social and Emotional Learning (2016, background): “Finally, SEL interventions for teachers (e.g., mindfulness training) may reduce teacher stress, which appears to contribute to exclusionary discipline and discipline disparities (Hart, Wearing, & Conn, 1995; Osher et al., 2012; Roeser et al., 2013).”
Teachers’ psychological functioning in the workplace: Exploring the roles of contextual beliefs, need satisfaction, and personal characteristics (2016, neutral): “In addition, given the increasing interest in interventions designed to improve teachers’ work-related perceptions such as well-being (e.g., Roeser et al., 2013; Sharrocks, 2014), an important area of future research is to examine whether such interventions are also broadly applicable across…”