Presenter: Elizabeth Porter, College of Social and Behavioral Science, Health, Society, and Policy
Authors: Elizabeth Porter, Aaron Fischer, Jana Sill, Eric Dooley-Feldman, Karen Tao
Faculty Advisor: Aaron Fischer, College of Education, Educational Psychology
Institution: University of Utah
Teacher stress is likely to increase this academic year as COVID-19 has resulted in much uncertainty such as classroom environment changes from in-person to online teaching (de Oliveira Araújo, 2020). The purpose of this study is to provide teachers with additional emotional and mental health support. Mindfulness practice has proved as a successful resource provided to teachers to help lessen stress (Tang, 2013). Mindfulness practices encourage its users to increase awareness and management of emotions resulting in better coping mechanisms and improved mental wellbeing (Tang, 2013). Mindfulness-based Interventions (MBIs) provided in schools thus far have mainly focused on the effect MBIs have on student wellbeing -- showing improved student wellbeing (Sapthiang, 2019). Limited research exists regarding the effect of MBIs on teachers' wellbeing (Gouda, 2016). Currently, MBI training programs for teachers are usually implemented through eight-week courses. These long training programs may not be feasible to implement for every school given busy schedules of teachers (Gouda, 2016), and may be even less feasible with COVID-19 adding interruptions into teacher’s schedules. The benefits of MBI programs, however, cannot be overlooked as they can result in increased social emotional learning (Dorman, 2015). Thus, the purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of short mindfulness-based training on teachers’ stress, burnout, and overall wellbeing.