A Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention (bMBI) to Reduce Teacher Stress & Burnout. Teaching and Teacher Education - Taylor S., Roberts, A. & Zarret, N.

Many studies have examined mindfulness programs to determine the effect on teacher wellness. In each case, improvements in teachers' feelings of stress and anxiety were found. While mindfulness based stress reduction programs, designed by Jon Kabat-Zinn have been considered the gold standard in developing a mindfulness practice, these researchers set out to determine if a six-hour, direct face-to-face contact would be efficacious in reducing levels of teacher stress, burnout, and psychological distress.

In this study, teachers from a high performing magnet school in the southeastern United States who expressed interest were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a wait-list group (the wait-list group would receive the intervention the following semester). Four 90-minute sessions held in the school occurred over a period of 16 weeks. Teachers provided saliva samples after waking up two days before and after the intervention to measure cortisol levels (Cortisol is a hormone that regulates stress in the body). Teachers also completed pre- and post-surveys to measure their levels of stress, burnout, and psychological stress.  The results of this study indicated robust effects for reducing teachers’ stress, burnout, and depression. The important takeaway from Taylor, et. al. is that fewer face-to-face mindfulness sessions may yield similar positive results as longer program formats. With shorter mindfulness programs teachers who have limited time may be able to have greater access to these stress-reductions skills and be less likely to experience burnout.