Abstract
Objectives
Stress has deleterious effects on teachers’ well-being and interactions with students. While in-person mindfulness programs have demonstrated benefits for teachers’ mental health, in-person classes are often not feasible due to teachers’ busy schedules. This study assessed four components of feasibility (implementation, demand, acceptability, and limited-efficacy testing) for an online mindfulness intervention for teachers.
Method
A volunteer sample of 50 primary school teachers was recruited across three urban public schools and was offered a 9-week online mindfulness program (DeStress Monday at School). The program provided weekly mindfulness practices for (1) self-care and (2) classroom use to promote teacher and student stress management. Surveys and focus group discussions assessed program feasibility. Paired t-tests were used to evaluate pre-post changes in teacher well-being.
Results
Most participants had no technical problems, providing general support for implementation. Support for program demand was mixed; while 85% of participants used practices at least once, some never used practices, and over half used practices only 1–3 times. Those who used practices generally rated their acceptability favorably. Qualitative analyses showed significant pre-post improvements in work-related and overall stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and sleep; those who used practices reported more benefits than those who did not. Qualitative data corroborated these findings, with teachers describing improved stress- and emotion-management following program use.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest mindfulness can be delivered online to teachers and may enhance mental health and wellness. Next steps include conducting more rigorous research with a control condition to better understand potential program impact.
Preregistration
This study is not preregistered.