Qualitative Assessment of Teacher and Classroom Impacts of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Middle School Teachers

• In Event: 52.074 - Teacher, Classroom, and Student Impacts of Teacher Mindfulness Programs in Elementary and Middle School Settings

Abstract

The present study uses data from teachers who received a mindfulness program and examines potential teacher and classroom level impacts of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) for middle school educators. Drawing upon teachers’ open-ended survey responses, one-on-one interviews and ethnographic field notes from intervention sessions, we examine the following research questions: (1) Do teachers report personal and professional benefits from program participation?; and (2) Do teachers report transferring aspects of their mindfulness training into the classroom with students?

Theoretical Framework
Mindfulness is defined as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003, p. 145). It includes the skills and dispositions of focused attention, conscious and clear perception, and an attitude of warm-hearted curiosity and compassionate acceptance towards the present moment (Cullen, 2011). Mindfulness training (MT) is a novel approach to teacher professional development (e.g., Roeser et al., 2013).

Research shows that teaching in general is highly demanding, uncertain, and emotional work that requires sustained engagement, focused attention, mental flexibility, emotion regulation, confidence, and resilience (Roeser, Skinner, Beers & Jennings, 2012). Studies also show that teaching is a stressful occupation (Johnson et al., 2005) and that secondary school teachers in particular feel less efficacious at, and experience more stress with regard to their jobs than do elementary school teachers (Klassen & Chui, 2011). Therefore, this study investigates whether middle school teachers report benefits following participation in MT that help them address the unique challenges and demands of middle school settings and working with adolescents. Based on prior research and our logic model, we predict that qualitative data from teachers will reveal teacher reports of professional as well as personal benefits, as well as teacher reports of transfer of aspects of their mindfulness practice to the classroom in terms of improving their interactions with students.

Method
Fifty-five 6th – 8th grade teachers participated in a multi-method, feasibility study of mindfulness training for middle school teachers. This study examines data from the 29 teachers in the treatment group. Qualitative assessments of the MT program were collected from teachers in the treatment following the training at the end of the school year. Data from open-ended survey questions, one-on-one interviews, and field notes taken during the 11 training sessions have been transcribed and are currently being thematically coded by independent raters.

Preliminary Results
Preliminary themes indicate program benefits on teachers’ stress, emotional awareness and regulation when encountering classroom challenges. For some teachers, these benefits in turn led to being less judgmental and having greater compassion for challenging students, as well as improved relationships with students and a better understanding of students’ needs.

Significance
The results of this study will contribute to our understanding of the perceived benefits of mindfulness training for teachers of early adolescents. Study results suggest that complementing brain, behavioral, and survey measures with qualitative assessments that attend to individuals’ phenomenological experience of these interventions is important in future work. Implications for future research will be discussed.

Authors

• Cynthia Taylor, Portland State University

• Cristi Pinela, Portland State University

• Andrew J. Mashburn, Portland State University

• Ellen Skinner, Portland State University

• Robert William Roeser, Penn State University