Research into mindfulness for teachers

What is it about?

School teachers report high levels of stress affecting their engagement with pupils and their effectiveness as a teacher. Mindfulness-based interventions might help teachers cope better with stress. This article reviews 13 research studies (both quantitative and qualitative) that have reported the results of such approaches on the stress levels and resilience of teachers of children aged 5–18 years .

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Why is it important?

The studies in this review showed most evidence for mindfulness-based interventions improving teachers' awareness of their emotions and increasing their ability to control them. This is important because this capacity may help reduce stress levels. However, the main conclusion was that there is currently insufficient research to make bold claims about the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for teachers. Furthermore, little research has been done into how it might link with pupils'academic performance, which is the main focus of schools. More, and more robust, research studies are needed before schools are able to be confident about whether it is appropriate for them to invest in such approaches.