Rest as Resistance: Transcendental Meditation, Cultural Wealth, and the Well‑Being of Bilingual Teacher‑Leaders

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Narrating Language Resistance and Agency

Abstract

This mixed-methods study examined the impact of Transcendental Meditation (TM) on stress and burnout among bilingual teacher-leaders, a group at high risk of attrition due to systemic and sociocultural pressures. Sixty-two California-based educators were randomly assigned to a TM or waitlist control group. Quantitative results showed significant reductions in emotional exhaustion, perceived stress, and mood disturbance for the TM group. Qualitative findings, interpreted through Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth framework, revealed that meditation enhanced access to cultural assets—including familial, linguistic, and resistant capital—that supported well-being. Rest emerged as a powerful form of resistance. This study expands CCW theory and offers evidence for the effectiveness of culturally responsive wellness practices in sustaining educators of color.

Author

• Margaret Peterson, Stanford University