The Psychology of Fair Assessment: Mindfulness, Mental Health, and Grading Bias Among Senior High School Teachers in Ghana

Background: In recent years, teacher well-being and fairness in assessment have emerged as critical issues in higher education, particularly in contexts of rising stress and burnout. This study employed a correlational research design to investigate the relationships among mindfulness, psychological distress, mental health, and assessment fairness among senior high school teachers in Ghana.

Method: A sample of 1024 teachers from public and private institutions was recruited using stratified random sampling to ensure representation across key demographics. Adopted validated psychometric tools assessed mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire [FFMQ]), psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (10 items) [K10]), mental health status (General Health Questionnaire (12 items) [GHQ-12]), emotional exhaustion (Maslach Burnout Inventory-Emotional Exhaustion subscale [MBI-EE]), job satisfaction survey (JSS), and perceptions of grading bias and fairness. Data were collected via online surveys, enabling wide geographical reach and participant anonymity.

Result: The results revealed that mindfulness was positively associated with mental health, job satisfaction, and perceptions of assessment fairness, and negatively correlated with psychological distress, emotional exhaustion, and grading bias tendencies. Multiple regression analysis showed that mindfulness (β = 0.30, p < 0.001**), mental health (β = 0.22, p = 0.003**), and job satisfaction (β = 0.25, p = 0.001**) significantly associated assessment fairness perceptions. Conversely, psychological distress (β = -0.24, p = 0.001**), emotional exhaustion (β = -0.21, p = 0.002**), and grading bias tendency (β = -0.27, p = 0.001**) were negative associators. Moderation analysis indicated that mindfulness buffered the detrimental effect of psychological distress on fairness perceptions (interaction β = 0.21, p = 0.003**). Mediation analysis further showed that mental health partially mediated the mindfulness-assessment fairness relationship (indirect β = 0.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.08, 0.21]), suggesting mindfulness fosters fairness perceptions partly by enhancing mental well-being.

Conclusion: The findings highlight key psychological pathways through which mindfulness supports equitable assessment practices, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness-based interventions and mental health support to promote fairness, reduce bias, and improve teachers' well-being in senior high school education settings.