From student to teacher: finding mindful ways to grow in the face of stress
Date
2014-11-13
Authors
Draper-Clarke, Lucy J
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Abstract
The severity of stress in the teaching profession is a worldwide phenomenon, and recent
concern has focused on the number of student teachers who leave soon after qualifying.
The benefits of mindfulness practices have been firmly established in the medical arena,
particularly for stress-related illnesses. Studies are now being conducted within
education, and research is investigating the potential of mindfulness for personal and
professional growth. This interdisciplinary study focuses on student teachers, and by
taking a developmental approach, explores whether mindfulness provides a catalyst for
the effective transition from student to teacher.
The outcomes of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) were examined with a sample
of South African student teachers at the Witwatersrand School of Education (n=14).
Participants attended a series of interviews over a five-month period, attended a sixweek
MBI, and completed self report questionnaires on depression, anxiety and stress,
facets of mindfulness, and self-compassion. Results from the mixed-methods study
revealed that common causes of stress were seriously exacerbated by the Gauteng
context. Most student teachers were experiencing depression, anxiety and stress of
clinical levels, yet with the provision of little clinical support.
The students who participated in the MBI revealed a range of pre-existing coping
strategies, and added mindfulness practices to their repertoire at differing levels of
effectiveness. A Developmental Model of Mindfulness was developed as a result of the
research process, in order to advise on the different types of practice, and different
expectations of results, at each developmental stage. The proposed categories are
restorative, dynamic and transformative mindfulness.
Qualitative data from interviews were explored to identify themes, showing dialectical
shifts as tensions were identified and new behaviours explored. Further research is
needed to explore long-term dispositional development beneficial for a teaching career,
but initial findings provide subjective evidence from students that mindfulness may be a
valuable mediator of change within the context of teacher education.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University
of the Witwatersrand in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy.
Johannesburg
19th June 2014