Impact of mindfulness on early education teacher well-being: an evaluation study

2019-02-13This mixed methods study examined the impact of mindfulness practice on the well-being of early education teachers at The Early Learning Center. The research questions explored the knowledge and motivation of the early education teachers, and the organizational influences at the center, which impacted the early education teachers’ ability to demonstrate competency in mindfulness and integrate the practice within their professional and personal lives. The Clark and Estes Gap Analytic Framework (2008) was utilized, and the results and findings from the study revealed three themes related to the teachers and mindfulness. As the teachers sought to demonstrate competency in mindfulness, gaps were revealed with the teachers as related to factual, conceptual, and metacognitive knowledge. While the teachers recognized the benefits of a mindfulness practice and demonstrated self-efficacy in being mindful, the was a motivational gap in regard to self-determination theory, as the teachers did not express a strong level of interest in engaging with the practice of mindfulness. The teachers perceived the leadership team as supporting mindfulness at the center, however additional training is needed, as well as modeling of the practice, and designated time outside of the classroom for the teachers to engage in mindfulness. The results and findings from the research study provided a framework for developing a recommended training program. Utilizing the New World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016), a training and evaluation program was developed as the recommended action for reducing the gaps and aiding in the achievement of the stakeholder and organizational goals