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Schools are seen as having a central role to play in the "Every Child Matters" (ECM) effort, which many are finding somewhat challenging, an additional pressure and something of a departure from their usual role. One way forward may be to help schools make links between ECM and other activities with which they are starting to engage but with which they may not necessarily have made connections. This paper will, therefore, explore the links between the ECM agenda and efforts being made to develop work on social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools and suggest that SEL is absolutely central to the achievement of ECM and share some fundamental principles and concerns with it.
BACKGROUND:Mindfulness-based approaches for adults are effective at enhancing mental health, but few controlled trials have evaluated their effectiveness among young people.
AIMS:
To assess the acceptability and efficacy of a schools-based universal mindfulness intervention to enhance mental health and well-being.
METHOD:
A total of 522 young people aged 12-16 in 12 secondary schools either participated in the Mindfulness in Schools Programme (intervention) or took part in the usual school curriculum (control).
RESULTS:
Rates of acceptability were high. Relative to the controls, and after adjusting for baseline imbalances, children who participated in the intervention reported fewer depressive symptoms post-treatment (P = 0.004) and at follow-up (P = 0.005) and lower stress (P = 0.05) and greater well-being (P = 0.05) at follow-up. The degree to which students in the intervention group practised the mindfulness skills was associated with better well-being (P<0.001) and less stress (P = 0.03) at 3-month follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS:
The findings provide promising evidence of the programme's acceptability and efficacy.
"Happy Teachers Change the World is the first official, authoritative manual of the Thich Nhat Hanh/Plum Village approach to mindfulness in education. Spanning the whole range of schools and grade levels, from preschool through higher education, these techniques are grounded in the everyday world of schools, colleges, and universities. Beginning firmly with teachers and all those working with students, including administrators, counselors, and other personnel, the Plum Village approach stresses that educators must first establish their own mindfulness practice since everything they do in the classroom will be based on that foundation. The book includes easy-to-follow, step-by-step techniques perfected by educators to teach themselves and to apply to their work with students and colleagues, along with inspirational stories of the ways in which teachers have made mindfulness practice alive and relevant for themselves and their students across the school and out into the community. The instructions in Happy Teachers Change the World are offered as basic practices taught by Thich Nhat Hanh, followed by guidance from educators using these practices in their classrooms, with ample in-class interpretations, activities, tips, and instructions. Woven throughout are stories from members of the Plum Village community around the world who are applying these teachings in their own lives and educational contexts"--
Teacher stress is a serious and endemic concern. Mindfulness-based interventions show promise in reducing stress and increasing well-being by cultivating mindfulness and self-compassion. This feasibility trial evaluated a mindfulness-based programme customised for teachers. A sample of 89 secondary school teachers and staff were recruited and self-selected into the intervention (n = 49) or comparison (n = 40) conditions. Participants were asked to complete self-reports which measured stress (PSS), well-being (WEMWBS), mindfulness (FFMQ), and self-compassion (SCS; Kindness and Self-Judgement) at baseline and after the completion of the intervention. Results revealed that individuals in the intervention condition reported significant reductions in stress, and significant increases in well-being post-intervention in comparison to their counterparts in the comparison group. There was an observed large effect (ηp2 >.14) for the intervention on all outcome measures, an effect that was maintained when controlling for baseline differences between the intervention and comparison groups. Furthermore, the majority (95 %) of teachers who attended the course found it to be acceptable. These results indicate that a customised mindfulness-based programme for teachers is a promising approach to reducing stress and increasing well-being, mindfulness, and self-compassion among secondary school teachers. However, the results of the current study are preliminary and the next phase of work will involve extending to a larger scale randomised controlled trial.
Teacher stress is a serious and endemic concern. Mindfulness-based interventions show promise in reducing stress and increasing well-being by cultivating mindfulness and self-compassion. This feasibility trial evaluated a mindfulness-based programme customised for teachers. A sample of 89 secondary school teachers and staff were recruited and self-selected into the intervention (n = 49) or comparison (n = 40) conditions. Participants were asked to complete self-reports which measured stress (PSS), well-being (WEMWBS), mindfulness (FFMQ), and self-compassion (SCS; Kindness and Self-Judgement) at baseline and after the completion of the intervention. Results revealed that individuals in the intervention condition reported significant reductions in stress, and significant increases in well-being post-intervention in comparison to their counterparts in the comparison group. There was an observed large effect (ηp2 >.14) for the intervention on all outcome measures, an effect that was maintained when controlling for baseline differences between the intervention and comparison groups. Furthermore, the majority (95 %) of teachers who attended the course found it to be acceptable. These results indicate that a customised mindfulness-based programme for teachers is a promising approach to reducing stress and increasing well-being, mindfulness, and self-compassion among secondary school teachers. However, the results of the current study are preliminary and the next phase of work will involve extending to a larger scale randomised controlled trial.