Lovingkindness meditation: effects on teacher burnout, emotion regulation, and teacher-student interaction quality
Maria Haji-Georgi
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | AB single-case experimental design |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 5 |
| Population | Elementary school teachers across general education, special education, and specialist contexts |
| Intervention | Lovingkindness meditation |
| Measures | Maslach Burnout Inventory, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Classroom Assessment Scoring System |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Results were mixed: two teachers with the highest burnout showed the greatest improvements in teacher-student interaction quality, while two specialist teachers showed little to no improvement. Burnout decreased for many teachers, but only personal accomplishment changed statistically significantly; cognitive reappraisal also changed significantly, though three teachers increased expressive suppression. The authors call the results mixed but promising. |
Abstract
The quality of teacher-student interactions has important implications for students’ learning and development. The high demands placed on teachers can contribute to teacher stress and burnout, which have negative consequences on teacher well-being, retention, classroom climate, and instruction, impacting student outcomes. Research suggests that teachers’ well-being and social-emotional competence underlie their capacity and ability to effectively facilitate healthy teacher-student interactions and manage the classroom environment. The goal of this study was to test whether a brief and daily practice of lovingkindness meditation could reduce teacher burnout, improve emotion regulation, and enhance the quality of teacher-student interactions. This study’s sample included five elementary school teachers across general education, special education, and specialist contexts. Teachers reported pre- and post- intervention levels of burnout and emotion regulation by responding to items on the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Effects of lovingkindness meditation on these outcomes were assessed with a non-parametric pre-post test. An AB single-case experimental design was used to repeatedly assess teacher-student interaction quality throughout both phases of the study. Two coders conducted observations and scored teacher-student interaction quality using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Dimensions related to emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support were assessed. Visual analysis was applied to assess intervention effects on level and trend across emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. Non-overlap and trend analyses were then applied to supplement visual analysis findings. Results were mixed across the cases and outcomes. One general education case and one special education case appeared to show the greatest improvements in teacher-student interaction quality but also had teachers with the highest reported burnout scores. The two specialist cases demonstrated little to no improvement in this outcome. Emotional support appeared most impacted by the intervention. Though many teachers showed evidence of reduced burnout, the only subscale statistically significantly impacted was personal accomplishment. Within emotion regulation, evidence suggested that teachers’ cognitive reappraisal was statistically significantly impacted by the intervention, though three teachers showed increases in expressive suppression, a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy. This study had mixed results but promising did emerge. Anecdotal evidence also supported teachers’ satisfaction with the intervention.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 29
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- Assessment of Mindfulness by Self-Report Assessment September 1, 2004
- Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. Emotion October 1, 2008
and 24 more in the library