The Effects of Mindfulness Training on Teacher Perception of Stress and Teacher Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Stress is a problem that affects teacher well-being; causes poor performance,teacher turnover, financial and organizational strain; and negatively impacts studentoutcomes (Greenberg, Brown, & Abenavoli, 2016). Addressing teacher stress is asignificant challenge for school leaders with limited resources. Additionally, supportingteacher self-efficacy is an ongoing aspiration as it affects teachers, students, andorganizational effectiveness. Furthermore, mindfulness has shown to be an effectivemeans to reduce teacher stress and promote overall well-being by cultivating presentmoment awareness, emotional regulation, equanimity, and compassion (Abenavoli,Jennings, Greenberg, Harris, & Katz, 2013; Flook Goldberg, Pinger, Bonus, & Davidson,2013; Jennings et al., 2017; Meiklejohn et al., 2012; Poulin, Mackenzie, Soloway,Karaylos, 2008; Roeser et al., 2013).The purpose of the study was to examine the differences in teachers’ perceptionof stress, teacher self-efficacy, and mindfulness after mindfulness training. Thirtyteachers in an urban school district, 16 at a high school and 14 at two middle schools,volunteered for the 8-week, 30-minutes per week mindfulness training. In this quasiexperimental study, teachers’ perception of stress, teacher self-efficacy, and mindfulnesswere measured three times: before, immediately following, and three weeks aftermindfulness training.Results indicated a significant reduction in teachers’ perceptions of stress aftermindfulness training, and the reduction maintained for the three-week period followingtraining. No significant differences in teachers’ sense of teacher self-efficacy werefound; however, results indicated teachers’ mindfulness increased significantly after mindfulness training. Notably, data analysis also indicated significant increases inteachers’ mindfulness from the end of training to three weeks after mindfulness training.The positive results from this study were encouraging as the four-hourmindfulness training might be efficacious in reducing teachers’ perception of stress andincreasing mindfulness. The positive effects gleaned from training were durable as theperception of stress maintained, and mindfulness improved over the three weeksfollowing training. A short time-frame mindfulness training might have potential to aidschool leaders in addressing problems of teacher stress, which is especially problematicin urban school districts.