Mindful Classrooms: Teachers Co-Designing and Implementing Mindfulness Interventions

Abstract

Teachers play a critical role in supporting student learning and well-being, yet many experience high levels of stress, burnout, and increasing job demands. Stress can negatively affect teachers’ mental health, job satisfaction, and classroom environments, making it important to identify practical and sustainable ways to support teacher well being. Mindfulness practices, which encourage individuals to focus on the present moment with awareness and acceptance, have shown promise for reducing stress and improving emotional well-being. However, little is known about how mindfulness programs can be adapted to fit the realities of elementary school classrooms and whether teachers can successfully implement these practices on a regular basis. This dissertation examined how a mindfulness program could be adapted for elementary school teachers and evaluated its use in real-world classroom settings. First, teachers participated in interviews to identify sources of stress, classroom needs, and recommendations for making mindfulness practices more relevant and feasible for schools. Teachers reported challenges related to workload, time constraints, student behavioral needs, and organizational demands. Their feedback was used to adapt the mindfulness program to better fit classroom routines and teacher preferences. The adapted program was implemented with elementary school teachers who practiced mindfulness themselves and led brief mindfulness exercises with their students. Teachers viewed the program positively and were generally able to incorporate the practices into their daily routines. However, the program did not produce consistent improvements in teacher stress, coping, or student classroom behavior across all participants. While some teachers reported reduced stress, improved coping, and positive changes in student behavior, others experienced smaller or more variable changes. Teachers who integrated mindfulness into existing classroom routines were more likely to continue using the practices after the study ended. The findings suggest that mindfulness practices may be a practical and accessible tool for supporting teacher well-being and positive classroom environments. More broadly, the study highlights the importance of involving teachers in the development of school-based programs and ensuring that interventions fit the needs and realities of the settings in which they are used. These findings may help schools make more informed decisions about supporting teacher and student mental health.