Two for one: Effectiveness of a mandatory personal and classroom stress management program for preservice teachers.

Abstract

The present study employed a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of a 6-hr mandatory stress management and well-being program for preservice teachers. A program group of 157 preservice teachers (M age = 22.46 years; 88% women) completed the program as well as baseline, postprogram, and follow-up measures. A comparison group of 63 preservice teachers (M age = 23.50 years; 85% women) completed measures at similar time points but did not receive the program. All participants completed measures of stress, coping self-efficacy, anxiety, mindfulness, and well-being. The program group completed additional measures of well-being, affect, and program satisfaction. Findings revealed significant improvements in key indices of mental health and well-being for those in the program group relative to the comparison group and high ratings of program satisfaction. Discussion focuses on implications of present findings for mandatory inclusion of wellness curriculum in teacher preparation programs with instruction on enhancing their own and their students' well-being. Impact and ImplicationsThe present study shows that providing basic stress management strategies for preservice teachers to use for their own and their students' well-being is very well received and effective in decreasing preservice teachers' stress and anxiety as well as increasing coping self-efficacy and mindfulness. These findings suggest that there is potential for school psychologists to provide similar basic professional development to early career educators.

School personnel well-being: Advancing measurement, best practices, and policy—Section 1: The role of context and competence in educator well-being.

“…The nine articles highlighted essential areas that effective comprehensive supports will need to include. First, articles consistently found the importance of social connectedness and bonding (e.g., Böke et al, 2023;Mennes et al, 2023;Sandilos et al, 2023;Yang et al, 2023). However, consideration of the context is very important, as connectedness and bonding alone may not be sufficient for enhancing and sustaining teacher well-being.…”

“…One of the most common themes across articles in the first section was the importance of social connectedness as a predictor of educator well-being (Böke et al, 2023;Mennes et al, 2023;Sandilos et al, 2023;Wink et al, 2024;Yang et al, 2023). This theme emerged in early childhood (Sandilos et al, 2023) and K-12 contexts (Mennes et al, 2023); in qualitative (Wink et al, 2024;Yang et al, 2023) and quantitative studies (Mennes et al, 2023); and in an intervention study (Böke et al, 2023).…”

“…As the only article in the series that evaluated a specific intervention for educator well-being, Böke et al (2023) described the development of a 6-hr training program to support preservice teacher well-being. The program focused on core Social Emotional Learning (SEL) areas for teacher development including self-regulation and mindfulness, compassion, awareness, and connectedness.…”