Digital well-being training for educators: Randomized controlled trials of the Healthy Minds Program in U.S. school employees

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Educator well-being as a foundation for peace in a divided world

Proposal

Educators report very high levels of distress and burnout. Mounting evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and afterwards indicates that educators experience significantly higher levels of distress than the general public, with likely effects on their career trajectories (e.g., high levels of early career attrition) and effectiveness. There is an urgent need for accessible and scalable approaches to support educator well-being.
This presentation will report on two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing the Healthy Minds Program (HMP) in nearly 1,500 American school system employees (SSEs). The Healthy Minds HMP is a smartphone-based well-being training designed to cultivate four pillars of well-being: awareness, connection, insight, and purpose. The first trial was conducted during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Summer 2020 among SSEs from across the US state of Wisconsin. 662 SSEs (>50% teachers) were randomly assigned to either a four-week HMP intervention or a waitlist control group. The program offered daily audio-based practices and brief didactic teachings designed to integrate well-being training into everyday life.
Participants assigned to HMP reported significantly greater reductions in psychological distress than those in the control condition, both immediately following the intervention and at a three-month follow-up. In addition to reductions in distress, participants reported increases in overall well-being, improvements in social connection, as well as decreases in perseverative thinking and loneliness, despite the continued social isolation occurring during the study. No adverse effects were reported.
The second study was a preregistered conceptual replication trial of 822 SSE from a large urban district in Kentucky in 2022-2023. In this study, participants were randomly assigned to the four-week HMP or to an active control “Choice” condition in which participants were provided with resources on well-being that did not include training in well-being practices. Most of the observed effects from the initial trial were replicated and on a set of new measures assessing work emotions and appraisals, assignment to the HMP predicted significant reductions in occupationally related negative emotions and significant increases in positive work appraisals.
These studies provide rigorous evidence that digital well-being training can be both effective and scalable, even during periods of acute disruption such as the COVID-19 pandemic. By demonstrating sustained reductions in distress and gains in well-being skills, and replicating these results in a new sample in a geographic region and content, the study highlights how interventions like HMP can help teachers manage stress and maintain resilience. Together with other research led by Hirshberg, these findings carry broader implications for the role of education in a divided world. Teachers who cultivate greater awareness and compassion are better positioned to create classrooms where cooperation and care can thrive, even in the face of external pressures, are more likely to persist in the profession, and may also improve student outcomes.

Author

• Matthew Hirshberg, Center for Healthy Minds