Exploring the role of mindfulness in supporting teachers in a South African school

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The practice of mindfulness is proliferating internationally as a tool for professionals to become moreeffective at managing stress and to optimise their performance. In South African school settings inparticular, the utility of mindfulness is an under-researched topic. This research aimed to begin to fillthat gap by exploring the effects of a Mindfulness-based Intervention on a group of teachers. It usedan exploratory mixed-methods study with a sample of eleven teachers that participated in amindfulness programme over a nine week period. A pre-test and post-test questionnaire as well as afocus group collected quantitative and qualitative data from the participants before and after theprogramme was carried out to determine whether the intervention had a statistically significant effecton the teachers' levels of mindfulness and compassion toward students; as well as to develop adeeper understanding from the teachers of the process of acquiring mindfulness skills.The levels of compassion towards students remained fairly consistent, with no significant changesreported. However, significant results were realised in three facets of mindfulness, namely Observe(F(1,10)=18.81, p=0.00), Nonreact (F(1,10)=9.05, p=0.01), and Act with Awareness (F(1,10)=5.13,p=0.05). These data suggest that the mindfulness intervention contributed to the increase inmindfulness within these facets. Furthermore, the Full Scale (F(1,10)=13.31, p=0.004) suggests thatthere was an overall significant increase in mindfulness. A post-intervention focus group discussionyielded vital insight into how the mindfulness skills provided this group of teachers with a form ofsupport that they could draw on in their teaching practice.Based on this study's findings, it may be beneficial for schools to consider utilizing the services of atrained mindfulness facilitator to explore possible benefits that it may have in supporting teachers intheir professional capacity. Additional studies of this nature, including a variety of different schoolsbased in South Africa, would make the research findings more generalisable in the South Africancontext, strengthening research outcomes.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University