Date of Award

5-2019

Rights

© 2019 Michael Peter Nolden

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Michelle Collay

Second Advisor

Kim Morandi-Roberts

Third Advisor

Louis Ganzler

Abstract

The professional duties of teaching can be stressful. The social pressures many teachers face beyond their workday (finances, family, career, peers, etc.) may exacerbate their feelings of work stress. Mindfulness-based practices in education show evidence they can alleviate teachers’ stress. The purpose of this study was to explore the framework of compassion as informed mindfulness in the professional lives of educators. Compassion Informed Mindfulness for Teachers (CIMT) was an original 6-week mindfulness-based intervention protocol (90 min. per week) addressing compassion, self-compassion, common humanity, mindfulness, and resilience exclusively for educators. Analysis of data through an ethnographic case study, supported by triangulated mixed-methodological design, suggests CIMT corroborates research supporting the efficacy of mindfulness in education. Pre-CIMT and post-CIMT analysis suggests case participants learned how to meditate, learned skills addressing self-criticism and greater self-compassion, were less over-identified with stressors, reported greater mental spaciousness and awareness, and reported less reactivity to stress. This research supports the continued and widespread use of mindfulness-based interventions in school environments. Instructing teachers and other school personnel the skills of mindfully reframing difficult interactions could have broad implications for school communities. Further recommendations for action include: instructing prominent stakeholders the pedagogical value of mindfulness and compassion; promoting CIMT as a staff developmental protocol in schools and districts; and promoting compassion and mindfulness programs in higher education, especially leadership and credentialing programs for educators. CIMT is positioned as a protocol to research and a framework to live by.

Comments

Ed.D. Dissertation

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