Dataset Information

Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Teachers: a Study on Teacher and Student Outcomes.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Teachers' stress can affect their occupational health and negatively impact classroom climate and students' well-being. This study aims to evaluate the proximal and distal effects of a mindfulness-based program, specially developed to promote teachers' social-emotional competencies (SEC), across teachers, classroom climates, and students' outcomes.

Methods

The study followed a randomized trial design with two data collection points (pretest and posttest). Participants in the experimental group (EG) included 123 elementary school teachers, their 1503 students, and these students' parents (1494), while the control group (CG) comprised 105 elementary school teachers, their 947 students, and these students' parents (913). A mixed data collection strategy was used that included teachers' and students' (self-) report, observational ratings of teachers' classroom behaviors, and parents' reports on students.

Results

After the intervention, EG teachers, compared to CG teachers, reported a significant increase in mindfulness and emotional regulation competencies, self-efficacy, and well-being and a decrease in burnout symptoms. Similarly, a significant improvement was found in EG teachers' classroom behaviors related to students' engagement. Additionally, significant improvements were also found in EG students' perceptions of the quality of their teachers' involvement in classroom relationships, self-reported effect, and social competencies perceived by their parents.

Conclusions

These findings further the knowledge on the role played by mindfulness-based SEC interventions in reducing teachers' burnout symptoms and cultivating their SEC and well-being, in promoting a nurturing classroom climate and also in promoting the SEC and well-being of students.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-021-01635-3.

SUBMITTER: de Carvalho JS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8060685 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:IntroductionTeachers and student teachers in Germany are a high-risk population for stress and stress-related mental health problems. This often leads to early retirement in subsequent professional life. Various trials have demonstrated positive effects of stress prevention training on the perceived stress and stress-related symptoms of teachers. Although many studies show positive effects of mindfulness-based stress interventions, there is not yet any mindfulness-based intervention for teachers or student teachers in Germany. The aim of this trial is to evaluate a training that combines mindfulness-based and cognitive interventions into one programme, addressing to the specific burdens of student teachers.Methods and analysisThis study protocol presents a prospective block-randomised controlled trial. Assessment will take place at three time points (baseline, post-intervention, 3-month follow-up) for an intervention and waiting control group, and at a fourth assessment point for the waiting control group after receiving the training. The aim is to evaluate the effects of mindfulness-based stress prevention on stress, psychological morbidity, burnout and self-efficacy using validated measures. Participants are student teachers from German teacher training colleges and participation will be voluntary. The targeted total sample size is 96 at 3-month follow-up. The training will comprise three 4-hour sessions conducted every 2 weeks. The control group will participate in the training after the 3-month follow-up. The allotment will be randomised with a stratified allocation ratio by gender. After descriptive statistics have been evaluated, inferential statistical analysis will be conducted using repeated measures analysis of variance with interactions between time and group. Effect sizes will be calculated using partial η2 values.Ethics and disseminationResults will be disseminated at conferences, in specialist magazines and through peer-reviewed publications. The trial has been approved by the ethics review board of the local medical association, Mainz, Germany, under the reference number 837.192.16 (10511).Trial registration numberDRKS00010897.

Project description:BackgroundUniversity students are experiencing higher levels of distress and mental health disorders than before. In addressing mental health needs, web-based interventions have shown increasing promise in overcoming geographic distances and high student-to-counselor ratios, leading to the potential for wider implementation. The Mindfulness Virtual Community (MVC) program, a web-based program, guided by mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy principles, is among efforts aimed at effectively and efficiently reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and perceived stress in students.ObjectiveThis study's aim was to evaluate the efficacy of an 8-week MVC program in reducing depression, anxiety, and perceived stress (primary outcomes), and improving mindfulness (secondary outcome) in undergraduate students at a large Canadian university. Guided by two prior randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that each demonstrated efficacy when conducted during regular university operations, this study coincided with a university-wide labor strike. Nonetheless, the students' response to an online mental health program on a disrupted campus can provide useful information for anticipating the impact of other disruptions, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as future disruptions.MethodsIn this parallel-arm RCT, 154 students were randomly allocated to an 8-week MVC intervention (n=76) or a wait-list control (WLC) condition (n=78). The MVC intervention included the following: (1) educational and mindfulness video modules, (2) anonymous peer-to-peer discussions, and (3) anonymous, group-based, professionally guided, 20-minute videoconferences. Study outcomes were evaluated at baseline and at 8-week follow-up using the following: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire Short Form (FFMQ-SF). Generalized estimation equations with an AR (1) covariance structure were used to evaluate the impact of the intervention, with outcome evaluations performed on both an intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) basis.ResultsParticipants (n=154) included 35 males and 117 females with a mean age of 23.1 years. There were no statistically significant differences at baseline between the MVC and WLC groups on demographics and psychological characteristics, indicating similar demographic and psychological characteristics across the two groups. Results under both ITT and PP approaches indicated that there were no statistically significant between-group differences in PHQ-9 (ITT: β=-0.44, P=.64; PP: β=-0.62, P=.053), BAI (ITT: β=-2.06, P=.31; PP: β=-2.32, P=.27), and FFMQ-SF (ITT: β=1.33, P=.43; PP: β=1.44, P=.41) compared to WLC. There was a significant difference for the PSS (ITT: β=-2.31, P=.03; PP: β=-2.38, P=.03).ConclusionsDuring a university labor strike, the MVC program led to statistically significant reductions in PSS compared to the WLC group, but there were no other significant between-group differences. Comparisons with previous cycles of intervention testing, undertaken during nondisrupted university operations, when efficacy was demonstrated, are discussed.Trial registrationISRCTN Registry ISRCTN92827275; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN92827275.

Project description:BackgroundThe acceptability of teachers delivering task-shifted mental health care to their school-aged students is understudied. Here, we evaluate teachers', students', and caregivers' acceptability of Tealeaf (Teachers Leading the Frontlines), an alternative system of care in which teachers are trained and supervised to deliver transdiagnostic, non-manualized task-shifted care to their students.MethodsIn a 2019 single-arm, mixed methods, pragmatic acceptability pilot study in Darjeeling, India, 13 teachers delivered task-shifted child mental health care to 26 students in need. Teachers delivered care through using a transdiagnostic, non-manualized therapy modality, "education as mental health therapy" (Ed-MH). Measured with validated scales, teachers' and students' acceptability were compared after teacher training (PRE) and at the end of intervention (POST) using paired t tests. Teachers (n = 7), students (n = 7), and caregivers (n = 7) completed semi-structured interviews POST.ResultsTeachers' quantitative measures indicated moderate acceptability PRE and POST and did not change PRE to POST. Children's measures showed acceptability PRE and POST but decreased PRE to POST. Teachers and caregivers universally expressed acceptability in interviews. Facilitators of acceptability included impact, trust of teachers, and teachers' ability to make adaptations. Conditions required for acceptability included supervision and teachers emphasizing academics benefits over mental health benefits to caregivers. Barriers to acceptability included a lack of teacher time and stigma. Interviewed students universally were unaware of receiving care; teachers intentionally avoided singling them out.ConclusionTeachers, caregivers, and children found teacher delivering task-shifted care acceptable, a key factor in care adoption and sustainability, though interviewed children were unaware of receiving care.Trial registration The trial was registered on January 01, 2018 with Clinical Trials Registry-India (CTRI), Reg. No. CTRI/2018/01/011471, Ref. No. REF/2017/11/015895. http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pdf_generate.php?trialid=21129&EncHid=&modid=&compid=%27,%2721129det%27.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44192-022-00024-z.

Project description:INTRODUCTION:The first years of school are critical in establishing a foundation for positive long-term academic, social and well-being outcomes. Mindfulness-based interventions may help students transition well into school, but few robust studies have been conducted in this age group. We aim to determine whether compared with controls, children who receive a mindfulness intervention within the first years of primary school have better: (1) immediate attention/short-term memory at 18 months post-randomisation (primary outcome); (2) inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility at 18 months post-randomisation; (3) socio-emotional well-being, emotion-regulation and mental health-related behaviours at 6 and 18 months post-randomisation; (4) sustained changes in teacher practice and classroom interactions at 18 months post-randomisation. Furthermore, we aim to determine whether the implementation predicts the efficacy of the intervention, and the cost effectiveness relative to outcomes. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:This cluster randomised controlled trial will be conducted in 22 primary schools in disadvantaged areas of Melbourne, Australia. 826 students in the first year of primary school will be recruited to detect between groups differences of Cohen's d=0.25 at the 18-month follow-up. Parent, teacher and child-assessment measures of child attention, emotion-regulation, executive functioning, socio-emotional well-being, mental health-related behaviour and learning, parent mental well-being, teacher well-being will be collected 6 and 18 months post-randomisation. Implementation factors will be measured throughout the study. Intention-to-treat analyses, accounting for clustering within schools and classes, will adopt a two-level random effects linear regression model to examine outcomes for the intervention versus control students. Unadjusted and analyses adjusted for baseline scores, baseline age, gender and family socioeconomic status will be conducted. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Ethics approval has been received by the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Melbourne. Findings will be reported in peer-review publications, national and international conference presentations and research snapshots directly provided to participating schools and families. PRE-RESULTS TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12619000326190).