Abstract
Although mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in education are widely spreading in the world, examination of mindfulness effects in Arab schools is still scarce. This pilot study aimed to fill this gap by examining the effects of an MBI among Arab teachers in Israel. This examination was conducted within the framework of the mindful self in school relationships (MSSR) model, which suggests that the positive effects of MBI on teachers’ emotion regulation are mediated by decentering. The participants (N = 39) were teachers from two Arab elementary schools in Israel, who underwent an MBI course (the MBI condition, N = 20) and another cognitive intervention (the control condition, N = 19). In a pre–post design, participants completed mindfulness, decentering, emotion regulation, and stress questionnaires. We hypothesized that (1) only in the MBI group, teachers’ mindfulness, decentering, and emotional regulation will increase and stress will decrease, and (2) changes in teachers’ decentering would mediate the associations of changes in teachers’ mindfulness with changes in their emotion regulation. ANOVA analyses show that, only in the MBI condition, teachers showed an increase in three mindfulness subscales (acting with awareness, non-reactivity, and observance), in decentering, and in adaptive emotion regulation (reappraisal) and a decrease in stress. Furthermore, changes from pre-intervention to post-intervention in teachers’ decentering mediated the associations of their pre–post changes in mindfulness with changes in emotion regulation. This study provides initial support to the feasibility and efficacy of MBI among Israeli Arab teachers and suggests decentering as a potential mediator of its effects in initial support of the MSSR model.
Highlights
Mindfulness is a meditative practice originating in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition, defined as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 2011, p. 291)
A few recent studies show a beneficial effect of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on students in the United Arab Emirates (Nabulsi, 2015) and Saudi Arabia (Al-Ghalib and Salim, 2018), there is no report on such training targeting Arab teachers to the best of our knowledge
It should be noted that there was a significant difference between the groups for T1 for 2 FFMQ facets (Describe and Observe) with the mindfulness intervention (MI) group scoring lower than the C group; this did not drive the effect of enhanced mindfulness in the MI group following the intervention but rather supports and emphasizes it
Summary
Mindfulness is a meditative practice originating in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition, defined as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 2011, p. 291). Mindfulness for Arab Teachers regulation abilities and to increased physical and mental health (Roeser, 2014; Tang et al, 2015; Schonert-Reichl and Roeser, 2016) These compelling effects have motivated mindfulness cultivation in education and among teachers [e.g., the Inner Resilience Program, Lantieri et al, 2016; the Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE), Jennings et al, 2013]. These mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for teachers’ professional development aim to reduce stress and improve performance and classroom environments by cultivating teachers’ mindfulness and emotion regulation. This scarcity of information about teacher MBI in diverse cultural contexts demonstrates the need for further examination of its outcomes and the underlying mechanisms in an educational context
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