Week 12

Week 12 – Administrators - November 26 - 30

Research:

§  Farb, N. (2014). From retreat center to clinic to boardroom? Perils and promises of the modern mindfulness movement.

This article (2014) is an in-depth (and wordy!) exploration of meditation techniques (MT) and made the distinction between MT and modern secular meditation techniques (MSMT). Farb was “motivated by concerns that cultural appropriation is jeopardizing mindfulness’ potential in the West” (p. 1066). His conclusion is that “by accepting that we cannot control the spread of MT into commercial domains, researchers may still work to distinguish ‘right’ from ‘wrong’ mindfulness through empirical study” (p. 1062). He stated that ‘right’ mindfulness can be thought of as “efficacious at reducing symptoms of suffering or improving the ability to appreciate positive experiences” (p. 1066). However, in the Buddhist sense, ‘right’ mindfulness is “more a quality of attention that improves one’s mood; it also contains deep ethical constraints such as putting aside greed and self-concern” (p. 1066). This dissonance is what Farb called the “Great Danger” – “that the real benefits of MT may be obscured, and the movement’s popularization hindered in the seemingly inevitable shift from hype to frustration, disappointment, and abandonment of the path” (p. 1066). He also questioned whether a patient’s (or student’s) motivation will make an impact on the ‘success’ (or potential benefit of mindfulness practice) if they are begrudgingly practicing mindfulness on a doctor’s (or teacher’s) direction.

§  Hoy, W. K., Gage, C. Q., III, & Tarter, C. J. (2006). School mindfulness and faculty trust: Necessary conditions for each other?

This study is older (2006), but I thought it was quite interesting. The purpose of the study was “to conceptualize and apply the construct of mindfulness to schools and to explore trust as a school condition that fosters mindful actions” (p. 236). The study boasts 2,600 teacher-participants who responded to surveys (in 75 middle schools). After data were collected and analyzed, researchers concluded that “faculty trust and school mindfulness seemed necessary conditions for each other” (p. 236). Further, “mindfulness is a concept every school administrator should understand and practice, and a culture of trust seems necessary to achieve both the ends of understanding and practice. Principals need to lead in mindful ways. By encouraging faculty to play with ideas, to create novelty in their classrooms, to feel safe to take reasonable risks, to experiment, and to be resilient, the principal can have profound effects on school mindfulness” (p. 236). Finally, researchers note that while this study did not address student achievement, they stated that “a strong case can be made that mindful school facilitate higher student achievement” (p. 254).

§  Wells, C. M. (2013). Mindfulness in academia: Considerations for administrative preparation.

Wells is a professor (Oakland University) who is involved in preparation programs for school administrators. In this article (2013), she suggested that “meditation be a part of the university preparation program for administrative training” (p. 1) and that mindfulness practice be “embedded within course content for reflective, authentic, and case study assignments” (p. 1). Her argument is that the position of school administrator is a highly stressful one – one of the highest when compared with other professions (like the stress-level in the field of nursing). To address that stress, she makes the case for adding mindfulness practice to administrator preparation programs to possibly prevent burnout syndrome. She described burnout syndrome as “losing enthusiasm for work (emotional exhaustion), treating people as if they were objects (depersonalization), and having a sense that work is no longer meaningful (low personal accomplishment)” (p. 1). She suggested embedding the seven foundations of mindfulness into administration preparation programs: non-judging, patience, beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance, and letting go. She concluded, “scientific studies inform us that mindfulness meditation can change the density of the brain, result in stress reduction, lowered blood pressure, lessened anxiety, depression, and pain response … [and that] university professors can offer programs that begin to address the coping mechanisms and stress levels of the aspiring and practicing administrators in their classes” (p. 9).

§  Wells, C. M. (2015). Conceptualizing mindful leadership in schools: How the practice of mindfulness informs the practice of leading.

In this article, published in 2015, Wells continued to suggest that “the practice of mindfulness may reduce stressors while improving the effectiveness of leadership” (p. 1). She stated that “leadership theory has largely been described by the behavioral or trait characteristics of leaders. These descriptions focus on the activities or the doing of the leaders where what often defines leaders is what they have or do … mindfulness departs from those approaches by suggesting a way of being as opposed to a way of doing” (p. 1, author’s italics). This way of being includes “utilizing the various elements of mindfulness practice and applying them in the school or district” (p. 5). By incorporating mindfulness practice, either formal, informal, or mindful moments of pause throughout the day, Wells suggested that mindful characteristics (such as non-judgment, compassionate and present listening, and mindful observation) can be cultivated and encourage better leadership. She concluded that “mindfulness may enhance the effectiveness of leaders with the cultivation of important traits associated with social and emotional intelligence” (p. 5) and that mindfulness “may contribute to the practice of effective leadership in substantive ways” (p. 5, author’s italics).

Discuss the special needs and challenges of administrators and if/how mindfulness practices (in their buildings/districts) can be a benefit/liability.

It is clear to me that any mindful, respectful community or environment starts with the leadership. If that leadership (administrators) are fearful, competitive, show favoritism, gossip or talk inappropriately about staff to other staff, or are under immense stress from their superintendents, that is going to be reflected throughout the entire building. This is exactly what happened a couple of years ago at my local elementary school. The result was a glaring lack of trust and support in the midst of frustrating and dangerous student behaviors. Teachers did not trust each other (some were spying on one another to gain favor with the principal), they did not trust their union representation, they could not rely on the principal to support them in behavior management or discipline (and even some teachers were reprimanded for requesting support), and the superintendent was causing much stress through additional mandates and pressure on the principal. All of this created a highly stressful, unproductive environment. The students that year were not able to flourish due to the lack of trust and tension throughout the building.

Trust is absolutely necessary for everyone to flourish, regardless of the environment. Competition, back-biting, and insincerity is a recipe for below-grade-level assessments and behavioral issues. It is the responsibility of administrators to create an environment of respect and trust with their faculty and, by extension, the students. It is just good practice to be a compassionate and mindful listener to show respect to the all professionals working toward the best interests of the students. Incorporating and encouraging mindfulness practices, both individually and corporately, is one way of showing care and concern for everyone’s wellbeing; being responsible for the education of the students entrusted to the public school requires empathetic/compassionate and wise leadership. An ongoing practice of mindfulness can increase awareness, insight, and compassion.

I am grateful that the principal at PBE has agreed to allow me to make a presentation to the faculty, as well as intern in the 3^rd grade classroom. Slowly, this school is making progress toward a more trusting, collaborative environment. With new faculty members, a new and positive superintendent, as well as changes to union representation, the environment of the building is slowly changing to a more positive, compassionate learning atmosphere.