A Well-being Training for Preservice Teachers

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this project is to study whether a mindfulness-based training program supports self-regulation, resiliency, effective classroom behaviors, and persistence in teaching.

Detailed Description
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Participants in this study will be undergraduate pre-service teachers already enrolled in the Early Elementary Certification Program (EECP) in the School of Education. This competitive admission program is four semesters long and consists of 4 certificate granting areas. Over the course of 2 years (i.e., 4 semesters), the investigators will recruit a total of 8 cohorts; 2 from each certificate granting area. Participants will be recruited during their second semester in the program for enrollment during the third semester (i.e., enrollment first semester of senior year). Cohorts will be match randomized by cohort type, ensuring that 4 cohorts are randomized to treatment and 4 cohorts are randomized to teacher education as usual, and that one of each type of cohort is randomized to treatment and control, respectively. All participants will complete a battery of self-report and behavioral tasks, as well as undergo a standardized classroom observation prior to the start of the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and at follow-up (5-8 months post intervention). Follow-up testing will occur during the final month of the final semester in the EECP program, a time during which participants will be full-time student teaching, training that best approximates in-service teaching. The qualitative component of this study will involve participants partaking in approximately four-hours of interviews (either group or individual based on a hierarchal sampling criterion), before and after the intervention period. In addition, all student EECP records will be qualitatively analyzed (i.e., supervisor notes, state certification portfolios). Each September for three years post-graduation, participants will be contacted and instructed to complete an online survey consisting of self-report inventories and information about whether they are continuing to teach and if so, the name and district of the school they currently work. Participants randomized to treatment will receive 1.5 hours of mindfulness training for 8 to 10 weeks during their third semester. Thirty minutes of this will occur during mandatory cohort seminar time, with the remaining one-hour after the end of cohort seminar time. In addition, during the intervention period they will participate in two 4-hour Days of Mindfulness. In total, intervention participants will receive about 21 hours of instruction in mindfulness over the intervention period. During the following semester (4th semester), intervention participants will receive 15 minutes of mindfulness booster practice each week as part of their mandatory cohort seminar. This novel mindfulness based intervention is incorporates elements of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (Kabat-Zinn, 1982), as well as contemplative practices that might be defined as social connectedness practices or constructivist practices (Dahl, Lutz, & Davidson, 2015). The curriculum has been developed by experienced mindfulness teachers (>10 years teaching experience, on average), all of whom have extensive meditation histories and most of whom have long-term experience as classroom teachers. The training will consist of formal and informal mindfulness meditation practices.

Official Title
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A Well-being Training for Preservice Teachers

Conditions
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Burnout, Professional, Stress, Psychological, Well-being, Psychological Adjustment, Self-regulation

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: novel mindfulness-based well-being training


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Undergraduate students in good academic standing entering their third semester of one of the following teacher education certificate programs (Early Education ESL, Middle Education SPED, Middle Education Content, Middle Education ESL). Note that good academic standing is a requirement for continuation in the certification program. Exclusion Criteria: A history of schizophrenia-spectrum, bipolar disorder, or other psychotic disorders

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention Group<br>A novel mindfulness-based well-being training for preservice teachers will be employed. The intervention will be held once a week for 8-10 weeks. Two 4-hour days of mindfulness will also be implemented during the intervention period. The intervention will involve training in a range of attentional and constructive (Dahl, Lutz, & Davidson) contemplative practices. During the follow-up period participants will receive weekly 15 minute booster trainings. | Behavioral: novel mindfulness-based well-being training<br> <br> |
| No Intervention: Control Group<br>Teacher education as usual. These participants will continue with the prescribed teacher training regime established by the Early Education Certification Program at the university. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change from baseline on CLASS assessment tool (La Paro, Pianta, & Stuhlman, 2004) | A standardized classroom observation tool assessing teacher classroom behaviors. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 
| Change from baseline on Symptoms Checklist 90 Revised (Derogatis, 1994) | a 90-item self-report of psychological symptoms comprised of 9 symptom axes (somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism). An aggregated score across all 9 domains provides a Global Severity Index score of psychological health. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 
| Change from baseline on Maslach Burnout Inventory - Education Survey (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996) | a 22-item self-report of teaching related burnout | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11-12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8-11 months after baseline (5-8 months post-intervention):  14 months after baseline,  26 months after baseline, and  38 months after baseline | 
| Change from baseline on Emotional go/nogo (Hare et al., 2008) | An emotional inhibition paradigm. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 
| Persistence in teaching: Current profession and role (if teaching, name of school) | Self-report on employment status following graduation and teacher licensure. |   14 months after baseline,   26 months after baseline, and   38 months after baseline. | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change from baseline on Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (Quirin, Kazen, & Kuhl, 2009) | A computer-based behavioral measure of implicit affective bias in which participants are provided with 5 nonsense words and asked to rate the words on a scale of emotional valence. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11-12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8-11 months after baseline (5-8 months post-intervention):  14 months after baseline,  26 months after baseline, and  38 months after baseline | 
| Change from baseline on General Self-efficacy Scale (Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1992) | A 10-item self-report of general self-efficacy | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 
| Change from baseline on Psychological Well-Being Scale (Ryff & Keyes, 1995) | A 54-item self-report inventory assessing psychological well-being. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11-12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8-11 months after baseline (5-8 months post-intervention):  14 months after baseline,  26 months after baseline, and  38 months after baseline | 
| Change from baseline on Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) | A self-report survey of general positive and negative affect. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 
| Change from baseline on Emotional Styles Questionnaire (under development) | A self-report designed to assess styles of emotional responding. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11-12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8-11 months after baseline (5-8 months post-intervention):  14 months after baseline,  26 months after baseline, and  38 months after baseline | 
| Change from baseline on Open response on difficulties in teaching | A one-item open response on difficulty in teaching. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 
| Change from baseline on Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983) | A 10-item self-report on perceived stress in the last month. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 
| Change from baseline on Implicit Association Task (Race, child and adult versions; Baron & Banaji, 2006) | A behavioral task designed to assess implicit biases related to race. | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 
| Change from baseline on Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (Baer et al., 2008) | A 39-item self-report of mindfulness | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 
| Change from baseline on Breath Count Task (Levinson et al., 2014) | 15 minute behavioral measure of mindfulness | 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention) | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Mindfulness, School Teachers, preservice teachers, teacher education