Teacher Outcomes Related to Sustained Mindfulness Practice: A Qualitative Investigation of the Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education Program

• In Event: Examining Implementation, Process, and Outcomes of Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education for Teachers, a Mindfulness-Based Intervention

Abstract

The present study uses qualitative interview data to examine the mechanisms underlying the intervention effects for teachers who participated in CARE training. Using a purposive sample of elementary teachers based on their self-reported levels of CARE-related practices during and after the intervention, this study addresses the following questions: 1) How do teachers with different levels of practice describe their distress tolerance, mindfulness, burnout, efficacy, compassion, and self-care? 2) Do teachers with patterns of higher sustained practice display more evidence of desirable outcomes (mindfulness, efficacy, compassion, self-care) and less evidence of undesirable outcomes (e.g., burnout) than teachers who do not sustain CARE-related practice? 3) What relationships exist between the outcomes described?
Mindfulness programs in education are becoming increasingly popular as a means to both promote pro-social classroom environments and ameliorate teacher burnout. Research indicates that regular mindfulness practice facilitates emotional self-awareness (Brown & Ryan, 2003) and enhances aspects of well being and the ability to regulate distress (Abenavoli et al., 2013; Ramel et al., 2004; Roser et al., 2013). Thus, mindfulness practices may promote cognitive and emotional regulation by supporting the ability to reflect upon one’s internal and external experience from a broader perspective which provides a wider variety of interpretations of and responses to stressful situations (Benn et al., 2012; Zelazo & Cunningham, 2007). Despite the prevalence of pre-/post-data indicating whether teachers experience change on pre-selected outcomes, the relationships between underlying mechanisms of these programs remain to be understood. Furthermore, there is a lack of research examining which outcomes persist and how they persist for teachers who sustained intervention practices during and beyond the intervention compared to those who did not sustain intervention practices.
Twenty-eight teachers were purposively selected from the overall sample of 224 to achieve maximum variation sampling based on their self-reported sustained practice at four time points. Interviews were conducted individually over the phone fifteen months after the completion of the intervention and lasted approximately one hour. Interviews were transcribed in their entirety. Using an explanatory design (McMillan, 2004) coders used the main outcomes from the quantitative measures as a basis for a directed content analysis (Hsieh and Shannon 2005).
Preliminary results indicate that teachers with more sustained practice not only showed greater mindfulness, efficacy, self-care, and compassion, but their distress tolerance operated differently than those who did not maintain the CARE practices. These outcomes seem to be related to the larger construct of resilience. In addition, the importance of community and collegiality, a code that emerged during data analysis, was more prevalent among those with greater practice. The results of this study will contribute to our understanding of the effects of mindfulness-based interventions for teachers. Qualitative interview data collected strategically following initial quantitative results can reveal the individuals’ subjective experiences which is necessary for understanding how the mechanisms of change of a mindfulness-based professional development program function. Exploring the outcomes of teachers with different levels of practices will provide insight into the sustainability of mindfulness-based professional development beyond intervention activities.

Authors

• Deborah L. Schussler, The Pennsylvania State University - University Park

• Anna DeWeese, Fordham University

• Damira S Rasheed, Fordham University

• Anthony DeMauro, University of Virginia

• Joshua L. Brown, Fordham University

• Patricia A. Jennings, University of Virginia