Teacher Impacts of Implementing a Mindfulness-Based Social Emotional Learning Curriculum for Preschool Students

• In Event: The Importance of the Emotional Context: Applications of mindfulness based interventions and concepts in four different settings

Abstract

Teaching is a stressful occupation, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19. Teachers report experiencing increased stress and burnout, and poorer mental health (e.g., Baker et al., 2021). The same stressors are affecting the social-emotional wellbeing of students, and the implementation of social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions has expanded in order to meet children’s social-emotional and academic needs. Interestingly, new research suggests that when teachers implement SEL interventions for their students, they too experience benefits (Schonert-Reichl, 2017), including improved mental health (e.g., Tarrasch & Berger, 2022) and more emotionally-responsive interactions with their students (e.g., Blewitt et al., 2020). These teacher qualities, in turn, are thought to have direct and indirect impacts on implementation of SEL curricula and student outcomes (e.g., Blewitt et al., 2020; Braun, Schonert-Reichl & Roeser, 2019).

In this study, we were interested in understanding the impacts on teacher outcomes of implementing a mindfulness-based SEL program for preschoolers. Specifically, we seek to answer the following question: Does teachers’ implementation of a mindfulness-based SEL curriculum for students have impacts on their own occupational health, their functioning at home and sleep, as well as their quality of their mental health generally (e.g., Crain, Schonert-Reichl & Roeser 2016)?

Using a cluster randomized control design, 23 preschool classrooms were randomly assigned to either receive MindUP, a mindfulness-based SEL curricula, or be part of a waitlist control who would receive the curriculum the following year. Teacher’s participation within MindUP included implementing SEL activities, participation in professional learning communities, and working with professional coaches. Participating teachers (91% female, 83% White, MAge = 40.3 years-old), taught at a range of institution types (Publicly-Funded, Not for Profit, For Profit) in an urban county in the Pacific Northwest. Teachers had on average 10.7 years of experience teaching in preschool classrooms (R: 1-25). Measures included teacher’s job satisfaction, occupational stress, work engagement and mindfulness in the classroom; their rumination on work at home and the quality of their sleep, and their mental health (e.g., happiness, stress, symptoms of anxiety and depression—see Table 1).

Results of regression analyses showed small to medium effect sizes on these outcomes at the end of the school year (see Figure 1). These effects were mixed in terms of our hypothesis that the treatment group would look uniformly better on such measures. Specifically, we found treatment teachers reporting being more mindful in their classrooms, but also reported lower work engagement. At home, treatment teachers reported less frequent rumination about their jobs, but no differences in sleep quality. In terms of mental health, we found that treatment teachers reported greater life stress and lower happiness, but also lower anxiety and depression symptoms. These preliminary findings suggest the need for further investigation into the ways that SEL curricula impact teachers’ occupational health and wellbeing, particularly in supporting teachers amidst rising attrition and stressful job conditions like COVID-19.

Authors

• Brielle Petit, Portland State University
  Presenting Author

• Eli Labinger, Portland State University

• Cristin McDonough

• Robert W Roeser, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

• Andrew J Mashburn, Portland State University