Preliminary Results from a Randomized Control Trial of the Healthy Minds Program During Pre-Service Training

• In Event: Seed and soil: New insights into current individual and school-based approaches to promote teachers’ well-being

Abstract

Objectives. Mental health concerns in teachers have escalated since the onset of the pandemic, and the deterioration of mental health can begin as early as the teacher training period (e.g., Santamaria et al., 2021; Silva et al., 2021; McLean et al., 2017). Accessible and scalable programs that prepare teachers for the stress of the profession are urgently needed to prevent the deterioration of mental health and its attendant consequences. The objectives of the present study were to test the 1) impacts, and 2) feasibility and acceptability, of an app-based mindfulness intervention – the Healthy Minds Program (HMP)– for teachers in their final year of training with the goal of preventing the deterioration of their mental health during the transition into the classroom. Theoretical Framework. The HMP is informed by the Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose model of human flourishing (Dahl et al., 2020), which posits that developing individuals’ skills of attention, awareness, insight, and purpose are critical to optimal mental health and well-being. Methods. In this project, pre-service teachers were randomized to the HMP or business-as-usual (BAU) conditions. Participants in the HMP condition were prompted to engage with the app each weekday for 9 weeks during their final semester of training, whereas those in the BAU condition proceeded with their training as usual. Data Sources. All participants reported on their symptoms of depression (PROMIS 8b; 8 items; 1-5 scale) and anxiety (PROMIS 7a; 7 items; 1-5 scale) at baseline and post-intervention, and those in the intervention condition reported on feasibility (ease of use subscale of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology [UTAUT2] measure; 4 items; 1-7 scale) and acceptability (enjoyment, current use, and future use subscales of the UTAUT2; 3, 4, and 3 items, respectively; 1-7 scale) of the HMP at post-intervention. Results. Preliminary findings from the 42 pre-service teachers in Cohort 1 indicate baseline equivalence in symptoms of anxiety and depression, but no significant condition-related differences in post-intervention symptoms of anxiety (MBAU = 17.23, MHMP = 14.21, t = 1.23, df = 34.46, p = .27) and depression (MBAU = 13.74, MHMP = 10.11, t = 1.66, df = 38.93, p = .10). Participants in the HMP condition reported that the program was easy to use (M = 5.56, SD = 1.17), and moderately enjoyable (M = 4.15, SD = 1.76), but were more modest in their assessment of their current use habits (M = 3.62, SD = 1.49) and anticipated future use of the HMP (M = 3.75, SD = 1.78). Data collection for Cohort 2 occurs in fall 2025. Regression analyses of data from Cohorts 1-2 will be presented at AERA 2026. Significance. Results of this study will provide evidence regarding the utility, feasibility, and acceptability of this preventative intervention approach to supporting the mental health of early career teachers. Should findings provide support for the HMP, results have implications for the integration of this approach into pre-service training programs, whose goal is to equip teachers with the skills necessary to be successful educators.

Authors

• Summer Braun, University of Alabama

• Alison Hooper, University of Alabama

• Matthew Hirshberg, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Mark T. Greenberg, Pennsylvania State University