Launching motivation for mindfulness: introducing mindfulness to early childhood preservice teachers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mindfulness-based practices are thought to improve teacher well-being, which can contribute to a prosocial classroom environment and positive student outcomes. Teacher preparation programs could provide preservice teachers with the opportunity to develop and practice mindfulness before they enter the classroom as lead teachers. This manuscript presents a mixed-methods study that investigates the use of a mindfulness-based intervention in an early childhood education teacher preparation course. Twenty early childhood preservice teachers participated in the study. Data were collected at three time points via surveys and questionnaires. Preservice teachers reported benefits from the mindfulness practices; however, the findings suggest more frequent and prolonged training may be needed to improve mindfulness traits. Preservice teachers found their introduction to mindfulness enjoyable and perceived it as a useful tool for both themselves and children. The findings of this study may capture a change in preservice teachers’ motivation for mindfulness and thus their desire to use this pedagogical practice in their future classrooms. Implications for teacher education are discussed.