Effectiveness and Mechanisms of Mindfulness Training for School Teachers in Difficult Times: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Tsang, Kitty Ka Yee Shum, Kathy Kar-man Chan, Winnie Wai Lan Li, Shirley X. Kwan, Hong Wang Su, Michael R. Wong, Bernard Pak Ho Lam, Shui-fong
Abstract	ObjectivesResearch in recent years has shown that mindfulness-based interventions can enhance teachers’ mental and physical health. However, the existing studies were predominantly conducted in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies. As a randomized controlled trial in a non-WEIRD society, the present study examined the effectiveness and mechanisms of mindfulness training for Hong Kong teachers in difficult times.MethodsTeachers from primary and secondary schools (n = 186) were randomly assigned to mindfulness training (eight-week .b Foundations) or waitlist control condition. They completed online self-report surveys on measures of well-being, emotion management, and mindfulness in teaching at baseline, post-intervention, and two-month follow-up.ResultsThe intervention group reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction, positive affect, general health, along with significantly lower levels of insomnia, stress, and negative affect than the control group at post-test and two-month follow-up. The effect sizes were medium to large (ηp2 = 0.06 to 0.14). More importantly, teachers’ baseline well-being had a significant moderating effect on the intervention effectiveness. Those with a lower baseline in well-being benefitted more than their counterparts with a higher baseline. In addition, teachers’ emotion management was found to be the mediator through which mindfulness training enhanced teachers’ well-being. Such improvement in well-being also predicted higher levels of mindfulness in teaching.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence on the efficacy of mindfulness training for teachers beyond WEIRD societies. It suggests the universality and practicality of mindfulness training in enhancing teachers’ well-being and reducing their distress in difficult times.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC8443903&blobtype=pdf
ISSN	18688527
Journal	Mindfulness [Mindfulness (N Y)]
Volume Number	12
DOI	10.1007/s12671-021-01750-1
PubMed Central reference number	PMC8443903
Issue Number	11
PubMed reference number	34545293
e-ISSN	18688535
Language	English
Publisher	Springer US
Publisher Date	2021-09-16
Publisher Place	New York
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
Subject Keyword	Mindfulness Teacher Well-being Stress Emotion management Mindful teaching
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Developmental and Educational Psychology Health (social science) Social Psychology Applied Psychology