An Exploration of the Relationship Between Mindful Nature Experiences and Teacher Mental Health

• In Event: Supporting Teacher Occupational Health

Abstract

In the context of today’s high stress and busy lives affected by systemic racism and uncertainty associated with COVID-19, this inquiry raises consciousness about how we can promote, protect and restore teacher mental health and wellbeing in our educational institutions through mindful experiences with nature. With both interdisciplinary and transcultural research indicating that nature experiences significantly contribute to wellbeing and knowing that teacher wellbeing also impacts student learning and school culture (Gray et al., 2017), this paper examines how teacher mental health is impacted positively through mindfully experiencing nature, and demonstrates that arts-based methodologies open space for understanding through diverse ways of knowing evidenced through data collected from photographs, personal reflections and visual art.

Author

• Darlene Loland, The University of British Columbia - Okanagan