Brown 2017

Source:   RESEARCH ARTICLE

APA Citation:

Brown, R. (2017). The perceived impact of mindfulness instruction on preservice elementary teachers. Childhood Education, 93, 136-146.

Author bio:

Rachel Brown – Associate Professor, Reading & Language Arts, Syracuse University (NY)

Purpose:

This study explored the self-reported effects of mindfulness instruction on preservice elementary teachers in the context of a literacy education course.

Findings:

Results indicated that students were not significantly more mindful and less stressed at post-testing … however, written and oral responses revealed benefits on mindfulness in terms of preferred practices as well as stress reduction during teaching. 136

Background and focus:

Mindfulness has been explored as a means of supporting teachers as they experience stress 137

One interest in mindfulness for educators relates to the increasing rate of burnout among teachers 137

Teachers are learning mindfulness as an antidote to stress, with research supporting that purpose 137

Fear and anxiety adversely impacts children’s and adolescents’ wellbeing, behavior, and academic performance. 137

Incorporating mindfulness instruction in preservice education programs may benefit not just teacher candidates, but also their students 137

The teaching of mindfulness practices such as meditation, yoga, and guided imagery, to preservice teachers has not been researched with any regularity 137

Since mixed results emerged from previous research, the purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of preservice teachers as they initially learned about mindfulness 138

In this study, preservice teachers experienced mindfulness instruction not as a separate or add-on program, but rather as an integral part of their studies in a literacy education course 138

Although teachers can introduce students to mindfulness by following prescribed steps in a manual, this approach is far from optimal. Mindfulness instruction works best when teachers share their personal experiences with practices, explain how mindfulness affects their lives, negotiate challenges skillfully, arbitrate interpersonal conflicts, and model practices more fluidly due to familiarity with them. Also, when students perceive that a trusted teacher believes in the efficacy of mindfulness, they are more likely to try the modeled practice. 139

Methods/Design:

Case study approach … Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to explore the impact of mindfulness instruction on teacher candidates 139

·         20 female undergrads

·         One semester – mindfulness taught in a literacy course

·         The author was both the course instructor and researcher

·         Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)

·         Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

·         In the moment reflections after mindfulness practice, retrospective comments on independent practice, and summative reflection about overall experience of practicing mindfulness in the literacy education course 140

·         Audiotaped debriefing

·         Audiotaped focus-group discussion

Discussion:

The quantitative results indicated that integrating mindfulness instruction in a literacy education course for one semester did not effect significant changes in either increasing mindfulness or decreasing stress. 143

Some of the qualitative data told a more promising story. The findings suggested that while limitations existed, the mindfulness instruction, even in as few as seven hours, appeared to positively affect participants’ perceptions in preliminary ways, including identifying preferred techniques and recognizing the potential for stress reduction for themselves and for their students in current and future teaching 143

Preservice educators learned to ‘talk the talk’ but not ‘walk the walk’ during initial instruction. They learned a shared vocabulary and gained an emerging appreciation for mindfulness … this rudimentary understanding appeared to occur cognitively rather than at a deeper, more embodied level. 143

To enhance future learning of mindfulness:

·         Increase time for initial instruction

·         Increase time for guided practice

·         Increase time for independent practice 143

Other plausible reasons identified in the mindfulness literature for the observed outcomes include

·         Feeling pressured to participate in instruction not perceived to be relevant to teacher education

·         Viewing mindfulness as incompatible with religious beliefs

·         Fearing the rise of difficult emotions during practice

·         Experiencing disappointment with performance (e.g. doing mindfulness ‘right’)

·         Having unrealistic expectations for outcomes

·         Having misconceptions about the purposes and practices of mindfulness (e.g. mindfulness meaning just ‘doing’ the practices)