Long-term impacts of the CARE program on teachers' self-reported social and emotional competence and well-being

Teachers' Emotional Intelligence and Organizational Commitment: A Moderated Mediation Model of Teachers' Psychological Well-Being and Principal Transformational Leadership

Given the global challenge of increasing teacher attrition and turnover rates, the exploration of factors and mechanisms that improve teachers' organizational commitment has become a pivotal topic in educational research. In this context, the present study examines the influence of teachers' emotional intelligence on their organizational commitment, with a specific inquiry into the mediating role of teachers' psychological well-being and the moderating role of principal transformational leadership, as informed by the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and the trait activation theory. We verified this study's hypotheses based on 768 valid questionnaires collected from Chinese primary and secondary school teachers. The results reveal that teachers' emotional intelligence can predict their organizational commitment both directly and indirectly through the mediating role of psychological well-being. Additionally, principal transformational leadership amplifies the positive effect of teachers' emotional intelligence on psychological well-being and, subsequently, organizational commitment. These findings theoretically deepen our understanding of the psychological pathways and the boundary conditions linking teachers' emotional intelligence to their organizational commitment, while also offering valuable practical implications for building a stable and effective teaching workforce.

Prevalence of stress and its relevance on psychological well-being of the teaching profession: A scoping review

Background

Well-being among teachers contributes toward quality work and better student support. Teachers' well-being persists to be a concern in school settings; there is a lacuna in understanding the concept of well-being among them. This scoping review identifies the stress factors and map their association with the psychological well-being of teachers employed in schools. Additionally, to identify the methodology and the interventions used in reducing teachers' stress and their relevance on their psychological well-being.

Methods

First, Pubmed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched for eligible studies with MeSH terms for stress factors, well-being, and teachers from 2010 to 2022. Identified studies were screened thoroughly and excluded or included based on prior established criteria. Data from the included studies were extracted and summarized according to the study protocol.

Results

Among the 60 studies that met our inclusion criteria, the majority were quantitative, with cross-sectional studies. Several studies focused on emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment aspect among teachers. Almost half of the included studies focused on organizational and social pressures such as administration workload, classroom management issues, lack of supervisor and team support, students' behaviour, and pressure from parents. The most used interventions to overcome stress were coping strategies and mindfulness training intervention tools.

Conclusions

The findings from the current scoping review will reveal the different stressors which impact psychological well-being. Focus on the most used interventions to overcome stress among schoolteachers. This will also provide recommendations to regulators and management to identify the factors causing stress among teachers and their relevance to their psychological well-being, overcome employee turnover and absenteeism issues. Also, different alternatives available to reduce the stress may benefit the stakeholders and policymakers to confirm a suitable intervention that will benefit the teaching profession.

The impact of self-efficacy on the well-being of primary school teachers: a Greek-Cypriot study

Introduction

This research was conducted to examine the extent to which teachers' self-efficacy affects their well-being following the COVID-19 pandemic. The originality of the research lies in the fact that there are not enough studies that simultaneously examine the relationship between well-being and self-efficacy in primary school teachers in Greece and Cyprus.

Methods

A total of 258 primary school teacher participants took part in this study, aged 23-62. The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale and the PERMA Profiler questionnaire were used to study the relationship between teachers' well-being and self-efficacy.

Results

Results show that after the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers' well-being is moderate to high. Moreover, teachers' self- efficacy is also high and related to their well-being.

Discussion

An important finding from the current research is that teachers' self-efficacy in promoting student engagement was the most important predictor for teachers' well-being. The implications of the results are discussed, and recommendations are made.

Using Reappraisal to Improve Outcomes for STEM Teachers and Students

The many stressors associated with teaching can take a toll, resulting in high levels of burnout among teachers and reduced motivation and academic performance among students. This is especially true in the context of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. Despite the efficacy of emotion regulation interventions in pedagogical settings in general and in STEM teaching in particular, there is a lack of suitable interventions. We applied the process model of emotion regulation to STEM teaching and proposed a framework, STEM-Model of EmotioN regulation: Teachers' Opportunities and Responsibilities (STEM-MENTOR), to elucidate how the high demands of STEM teaching and contextual factors (e.g., culture, reforms, teacher-student interactions) may lead to intensified negative emotions and deficits in executive functioning and emotion regulation implementation. Teacher emotions, in turn, shape students' STEM-related achievements and epistemic emotions. Thus, teachers' emotion regulation skills have pervasive effects on teaching outcomes for both teachers and students. We illustrate how at each level of our framework, steps could be taken to improve teachers' emotional trajectory. Our proposed STEM-MENTOR framework has implications for theoretical understanding and may help to shape future interventions that focus on cognitive-emotional processes in STEM education.

The roles of adaptability and school climate in first-year teachers' developing perceptions of themselves, their classroom relationships, and the career

The teaching career, and especially the transition from pre-service to in-service teaching, is uniquely characterized by change. Adaptability is an internal characteristic that has been shown to benefit teachers and may be especially relevant as they begin developing initial perceptions of themselves as educators, of their relationships with students, and of the teaching career at large. Importantly though, it is likely that the impacts of adaptability depend in part on the broader context. One such contextual factor that is highly relevant to teachers is their school's climate. The present study explored direct and indirect (moderated) relations among first-year teachers' (N = 133) adaptability and perceived school climate and their teaching self-efficacy, perceptions of the classroom relational climate, and career optimism. Path analysis revealed positive main effects of adaptability on self-efficacy and perceptions of classroom relational climate, as well as positive main effects of school climate on self-efficacy and career optimism. In addition, an interaction effect was detected whereby relations among adaptability and self-efficacy were strongest among participants who reported high and average levels of school climate. Results can inform future research on teacher adaptability and can also be used to inform interventions and supports provided to new teachers by school psychologists and other school personnel.

Transforming Empathy-Based Stress to Compassion: Skillful Means to Preventing Teacher Burnout

Objectives

Teachers play a critical role in preparing our children and adolescents for a successful future. However, despite the large number of students impacted by trauma and adversity, teachers are often not well prepared to provide trauma-sensitive support. Furthermore, while working to support students exposed to trauma and adversity, teachers may experience empathy-based stress exacerbating already high levels of stress among them. This narrative review explores the issue of empathy-based stress within the context of the prosocial classroom model which proposes that teachers' social and emotional competence and well-being are key to their ability to create and maintain supportive learning environments critical to student academic and behavioral outcomes.

Methods

Recent findings in neuroscience and education research are applied to support teachers' development of these competencies.

Results

We propose that shifting from empathy-based stress to compassionate responding may be one such competency to help teachers' respond effectively to their students' needs while protecting their own wellbeing.

Conclusion

We review research that supports this proposition and explore implications for teacher professional learning, educational policy, and further research.

How the home learning environment contributes to children's social-emotional competence: A moderated mediation model

Introduction

The home learning environment is the earliest contact learning environment in early childhood development, which plays an important role in the development of children's social-emotional competence. However, previous studies have not clarified the precise mechanisms by which the home learning environment influences children's social-emotional competence. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between the home learning environment and its intrinsic structure (i.e. structural family characteristics, parental beliefs and interests, and the educational processes) and children's social-emotional competence, and whether gender plays a moderating role in the relationship.

Method

The study randomly selected a sample of 443 children from 14 kindergartens in western China. The Home Learning Environment Questionnaire and the Chinese Inventory of Children's Social-emotional competence scale were used to investigate the home learning environment and social-emotional competence of these children.

Results

(1) Structural family characteristics and parental beliefs and interests both had a significant positive predictive effect on children's social-emotional competence. (2) The educational processes fully mediate between structural family characteristics, parental beliefs and interests, and children's social-emotional competence. (3) Gender moderated the effect of the home learning environment on children's social-emotional competence. Gender moderates not only the indirect effects between parental beliefs and interests and children's social-emotional competence, but also the indirect effects between structural family characteristics and children's social-emotional competence. At the same time, gender also moderated the direct effects between parental beliefs and interests and children's social-emotional competence.

Discussion

The results emphasize the crucial role of the home learning environment in the development of children's early social-emotional competence. Therefore, parents should pay attention to the home learning environment and improve their ability to create a home learning environment that promotes the positive development of children's social-emotional competence.

Intervention Programs Targeting the Mental Health, Professional Burnout, and/or Wellbeing of School Teachers: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses

This paper outlines a systematic review and meta-analyses to identify, describe, and evaluate randomised and non-randomised controlled trials of psychological programs targeting the mental health, professional burnout, and/or wellbeing of school classroom teachers. Eighty-eight unique studies were identified for inclusion in the review, and of those 46 were included in the meta-analyses (23 randomised controlled trials). In randomised controlled trials, the programs examined had large effects on stress (g=0.93), and moderate effects on anxiety (g=0.65), depression (g=0.51), professional burnout (g=0.57), and wellbeing (g=0.56) at post. In non-randomised controlled trials, programs had moderate effects on stress (g=0.50), and small effects on anxiety (g=0.38) and wellbeing (g=0.38) at post. Studies were heterogeneous in design and methodological quality was generally poor, particularly in non-randomised controlled trials. There was an inadequate number of comparisons to perform sub-group analyses, meta-regression, or publication bias analyses. Most of the programs examined required significant time, effort, and resources to deliver and complete. These programs may not translate well outside of research trials to real-world contexts due to teachers being time-poor. Priorities for research include using methodologically rigorous designs, developing programs for teachers with teachers (i.e. co-design), and considering implementation factors to ensure feasibility, acceptability, and uptake. Systematic Review Registration Number: PROPSERO - CRD42020159805.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10648-023-09720-w.

Factors influencing teacher wellbeing and burnout in schools: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Teacher's wellbeing and mental health play a pivotal role in learning experiences and educational environment. For a better future, we need thriving teachers with strong wellbeing.

OBJECTIVE

The current scoping literature review aimed to explore the factors fostering wellbeing and causing burnout among school teachers.

METHODS

Applying appropriate search terms to relevant databases for the years 2016-2020 yielded 934 potentially relevant research articles which were further filtered to 102 articles.

RESULTS

The findings of this review suggested that emotion regulation, positive workplace milieu and teacher self-efficacy (feeling successful as a teacher) are important factors fostering teachers' wellbeing whilst negative workplace environment and negative emotions along with feeling marginalized or bullied by coworkers are factors behind teacher burnout. The strengths of this study include a rigorous research design and relational analysis approach.

CONCLUSION

Teacher wellbeing needs a workplace environment with minimum bullying and marginalization. An atmosphere of respect, inclusion, and mutual teacher support is needed to promote wellbeing.

Emotions as Both a Tool and a Liability: A Phenomenology of Urban Charter School Teachers' Emotions

Teachers' emotional experiences at work have important implications for both teachers and students, particularly during challenging behavioral interactions. Understanding how teachers conceptualize the role of their workplace emotions can help school leaders and researchers develop policies and interventions to support teachers in navigating the emotional dimensions of their roles. In this phenomenological study, we examined how nine teachers working at two urban charter schools made sense of the role of their emotions in their work. We found that teachers conceptualized their emotions as both a tool and a liability for themselves and their students. We provide implications for charter school leaders working to improve teacher-student interactions and promote equitable practices in their schools, and for researchers aiming to understand the affective aspects of teachers' work.

Effects of the A+ intervention on elementary-school teachers' social and emotional competence and occupational health

Teaching is, to date, one of the most prone jobs to experiencing occupational stress and burnout. Owing to burnout's negative personal, social, organizational and economic impacts, researchers, practitioners and education policy leaders are interested in developing practices and interventions aimed at preventing/reducing its prevalence. With teachers' main professional demands to be of a social and emotional nature, interventions designed with a view to promote teachers' social and emotional competence appears to be particularly promising, positively impacting teachers' well-being and personal accomplishment and contributing to a decrease in their psychological distress, namely emotional exhaustion. However, theoretical and empirically grounded interventions with ecological validity and specifically targeting teachers are still scarce. Thus, to bridge the previously identified gaps, the present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and the quality of the intervention's implementation of the A+, an online social and emotional learning intervention for elementary-school teachers. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with a total of 81 participants (96.3% female, MAge = 46.21, SDAge  = 4.82, n = 42 assigned to the experimental group) from three different school contexts. School clusters were similar in size, organizational structure and socioeconomic level, and as regards previous attendance at social and emotional learning interventions; however, they differed with regards to perceived organizational climate. Data on the efficacy of the A+ was collected across four waves using a set of self-report questionnaires that assessed proximal variables (i.e., social and emotional skills) and distal variables (e.g., well-being, burnout symptoms), and analyzed through Robust Linear Mixed-Effects Models. Coefficient omegas suggested adequate reliability of the measures. Additionally, two trained observers completed an observation grid to evaluate the quality of the A+ implementation (e.g., participant responsiveness, fidelity), with excellent inter-rater reliability. Results suggested that, over time, the A+ had positive impacts across proximal (e.g., increased self-regulation, positive relationship, conflict management skills) and distal variables (e.g., increased emotional well-being, decreased occupational stress and emotional exhaustion symptoms) favoring the experimental group. However, results differed across the school contexts. These findings were accompanied by good implementation quality indicators, namely high fidelity in the delivery of the A+ contents and high participants' responsiveness. Despite its limitations, this study contributes to a growing body of research which reinforces the importance of investing in social and emotional learning interventions to prevent teachers' burnout and improve their occupational health. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of implementation quality research as a component of program planning with a view to enhancing programs' efficacy, as well as the need to adapt and consider context variables in research and practice.

Prospering in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: The effects of PROSPER-based intervention on psychological outcomes among preschool teachers

The growing concerns regarding the risks of transmitting the COVID-19 virus have intensified the job-related stressors commonly encountered by teachers in various cultural contexts. Evidence shows how the COVID-19 crisis has negatively impacted teachers' mental health outcomes such as stress, depression, and quality of life, which highlights the significance of designing psychological programs to boost teachers' well-being. This study examined the effects of a well-being intervention based on the Positivity, Relationship, Outcomes, Strength, Purpose, Engagement, and Resilience (PROSPER) framework on well-being outcomes among 76 in-service teachers (M_age = 26.05 years, SD = 4.71, range = 20–45; female = 93.4%) in Hong Kong. Participants completed survey measures associated with the seven PROSPER outcomes at baseline and 2-month follow-up. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that there were statistically significant multivariate effects for intervention conditions, Wilks' Lambda F(7, 58) = 4.50, p = .01. Results demonstrated that teachers who were assigned to the intervention condition (n = 36) had significantly higher scores than those in the control condition (n = 40) on positivity (b = 0.41, 95% CI [0.16, 0.65], p = .01), strength (b = 0.62, 95% CI [0.23, 1.01], p = .01), purpose (b = 0.61, 95% CI [0.18, 1.04], p = .01), and resilience (b = 0.57, 95% CI [0.07, 1.07], p = .04). Our findings provide evidence on the mental health benefits of the PROSPER-based psychological intervention program for preschool teachers.

Teachers Supporting Teachers: A Social Network Perspective on Collegial Stress Support and Emotional Wellbeing Among Elementary and Middle School Educators

School mental health practitioners and researchers are increasingly concerned about educator job-related stress and its implications for teacher burnout, teaching efficacy, turnover, and student outcomes. Educators’ collegial networks in their schools are natural resources for stress support, yet little is known about the extent to which educators seek support from their colleagues in managing their stress and whether these relationships promote their emotional wellbeing. Utilizing peer nomination and self-report data from 370 educators in 17 elementary and middle schools, we found patterns in whom educators nominated as a source of stress support. Specifically, educators more often nominated colleagues who worked in the same role, grade, and/or subject, and those similar in age and who had similar or more experience. Furthermore, men and educators of color more often nominated same-gender and same-race colleagues, respectively, whereas these trends were not observed for women or White educators. However, the prevalence of these characteristics among colleagues nominated as a source of stress support was not often significantly associated with educators’ stress and burnout. Rather, educators’ level of burnout was positively related to the burnout among those in their stress support networks. In addition, educators’ stress and burnout were positively related to the stress and burnout of their colleagues with whom they spent the most time. These findings highlight how educators’ perceptions of stress and burnout may be shared within their collegial networks and have implications for a role for colleagues in teacher stress-reduction and wellbeing-focused interventions.

Could the complying with WHO physical activity recommendations improve stress, burnout syndrome, and resilience? A cross-sectional study with physical education teachers

Purpose

Teachers are exposed to inherent psychosocial risks in the workplace such as chronic stress, psychological distress, exhaustion, and burnout syndrome. To compare the values in psychosocial variables based on compliance with the recommendations for physical activity by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the type of physical activity performed.

Methods

The study had a non-experimental and comparative design, with measurements in a single group. The sample was composed of 415 physical education teachers from Spain, with an age range of 21–53 years (28.78 ± 6.15) and a heterogeneous distribution of gender (69.4% male; 30.6% women). The Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, and an Ad-Hoc questionnaire were used to record the sociodemographic aspects and physical-sports practice.

Results

Most of the teachers complied with the recommendations for physical activity practice (n = 335; 80.7%). Physical activity was associated with lower signs of burnout and a greater ability to overcome. Although, teachers who did not comply with WHO recommendations, showed greater stress and emotional exhaustion. In conclusion, enough practice of physical activity based on WHO was shown as a preventive factor of stress and signs of burnout.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that perform physical activity based on the WHO recommendations helps for work stress prevention and burnout syndrome in teachers, as well as to overcome work adversities.

Effectiveness of interventions on the stress management of schoolteachers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

This systematic review aimed to analyse the effectiveness of interventions on the stress management of schoolteachers.

Methods

We searched the Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Education Research Complete until 30 November 2021, to identify relevant studies using relevant key words. Job or occupational stress was used as the outcome measure. Stress was defined as Perceived Stress Scale, Teacher Stress Inventory, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Teacher’s Distress, Brief Symptoms Inventory or Global Severity Index. Study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment was performed by two independent reviewers. The pooled estimate of the effect by the type of outcome measurement tool and by type of interventions used was calculated using random effects meta-analysis. We used Grades of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation to assess the overall quality of the evidence.

Results

We reviewed 26 studies, of which 24 were randomised trials and 2 pre-test/post-test studies. Based on meta-analysis, a positive effect of intervention (pooled estimate −1.13, 95% CI −1.52 to −0.73) with high heterogeneity among studies (χ2=426.88, p<0.001, I2=94%) was found by type of interventions used. Cognitive–behavioural therapy had the strongest positive effect, followed by meditation among the types of interventions studied. We identified evidence of a moderate quality for interventions aiming to manage the stress level of schoolteachers.

Conclusions

The meta-analysis showed a positive effect of interventions, suggesting that interventions might reduce the stress level among teachers. The quality of the evidence was moderate.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021225098

Teachers’ Social–Emotional Competence: History, Concept, Models, Instruments, and Recommendations for Educational Quality

Teachers’ social–emotional competencies are essential to educational quality. This study aimed to describe the theoretical background and relevance of teachers’ social–emotional competencies. We conducted a systematic review with a critical, theoretical review approach. The results showed that the concept has an increasingly complex history and followed a structured course from 1920 to present. Five main models have been identified: emotional regulation, prosocial classroom, Collaborative Association of Social Emotional Learning, Bar-On emotional intelligence, and emotional intelligence. There are measurement instruments consistent with four of the identified models; however, the model that does not have its own instrument uses different available scales. Specific recommendations are proposed to develop social and emotional competencies in educational public policies, which include school leadership, assessment, and teacher professional training. In conclusion, it is relevant to have clear guidelines that conceive and conceptualize social–emotional competence univocally. These guidelines would allow the design of instruments with a comprehensive and sufficient theoretical base that reflect the multidimensionality of the concept, provide a precise measure to assess the effectiveness of intervention programs, and enlist teachers who seek the development of the different skills that involve social–emotional competencies.

The narcissism spectrum and its effects on self-selection into the teaching profession and on the effort-reward imbalance

Abstract. Based on the person-environment fit theory and the dynamic self-regulatory model of narcissism, an occupational self-selection into the teaching profession is analysed. This examination consults two comparative groups: student teachers are compared with management students, and practising teachers are compared with business leaders. After a theoretical analysis of the narcissism phenomenon considering the social-personality perspective, the relation between the narcissism spectrum – extreme, healthy and insufficient narcissism – and the effort-reward imbalance is examined. The sample consists of n 958 test persons from Austria. Self-selection tendencies into the teaching profession are mostly confirmed. Teachers show lower levels of extreme, healthy, and higher levels of insufficient narcissism than business leaders. Student teachers show lower levels of healthy and extreme narcissism than management students. Compared to student teachers, practising teachers exhibit higher levels of insufficient narcissism. This difference can be traced back to stressful classroom conditions. Teachers obtain less reward from their work than business leaders. Lower levels of healthy narcissism lead to more overcommitment and a reinforcement of the effort-reward imbalance, and increase the risk of gratification crises in the teaching profession.

Effectiveness and Mechanisms of Mindfulness Training for School Teachers in Difficult Times: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVES

Research in recent years has shown that mindfulness-based interventions can enhance teachers' mental and physical health. However, the existing studies were predominantly conducted in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies. As a randomized controlled trial in a non-WEIRD society, the present study examined the effectiveness and mechanisms of mindfulness training for Hong Kong teachers in difficult times.

METHODS

Teachers from primary and secondary schools (n = 186) were randomly assigned to mindfulness training (eight-week .b Foundations) or waitlist control condition. They completed online self-report surveys on measures of well-being, emotion management, and mindfulness in teaching at baseline, post-intervention, and two-month follow-up.

RESULTS

The intervention group reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction, positive affect, general health, along with significantly lower levels of insomnia, stress, and negative affect than the control group at post-test and two-month follow-up. The effect sizes were medium to large (η p 2 = 0.06 to 0.14). More importantly, teachers' baseline well-being had a significant moderating effect on the intervention effectiveness. Those with a lower baseline in well-being benefitted more than their counterparts with a higher baseline. In addition, teachers' emotion management was found to be the mediator through which mindfulness training enhanced teachers' well-being. Such improvement in well-being also predicted higher levels of mindfulness in teaching.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides evidence on the efficacy of mindfulness training for teachers beyond WEIRD societies. It suggests the universality and practicality of mindfulness training in enhancing teachers' well-being and reducing their distress in difficult times.

How homeroom teachers cope with high demands: Effect of prolonging working hours on emotional exhaustion

This study applied the job demands-resources (JD-R) model to examine antecedents and processes leading to emotional exhaustion in homeroom teachers. We hypothesized that the demands imposed by student misbehavior, conflicts with parents, and workload would relate positively with emotional exhaustion and that prolonging working hours as a coping behavior would mediate these effects. The cross-sectional study involved self-reported questionnaire-based data of 560 homeroom teachers in Switzerland. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that workload (β = 0.43), conflicts with parents (β = 0.25), and student misbehavior (β = 0.23) were positively related to emotional exhaustion and that prolonging working hours partially mediated the effect of workload on emotional exhaustion (β = 0.21). Conflicts with parents and student misbehavior only related to emotional exhaustion directly, and not indirectly. We discuss these findings in light of the JD-R model, teacher education, and teachers' health promotion.

Results from a pre-post, uncontrolled pilot study of a mindfulness-based program for early elementary school teachers

Background

Mindfulness-based programs are a novel and promising approach for supporting teachers’ occupational health and well-being. Although rationales for mindfulness programs for teachers have been offered, the empirical research base evaluating approaches for educating teachers in mindfulness is still developing. This study reports the findings of a pilot study of a mindfulness-based program. This study is unique in that it is one of the only studies of the Mindfulness-Based Emotional Balance (MBEB) program to focus on early elementary teachers, to be implemented by a new instructor, and to recruit teachers via extrinsic motivators.

Methods

A pre-post, uncontrolled pilot study of a 27.5-h mindfulness-based program for teachers was conducted with 21 pre-kindergarten–third-grade teachers from the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Program acceptability was assessed based on attendance and teacher reports of program benefits. Effect sizes for within-person changes (from pre- to post-program) in teachers’ skills and mindsets, well-being, occupational health, and teaching practices were calculated. Teachers also suggested improvements to the program.

Results

With regard to program attendance and acceptability, teachers attended 87% of sessions, with 58% of teachers reporting a personal benefit and 58% of teachers reporting a professional benefit of the program. Effect sizes for changes in teachers’ skills and mindsets ranged from small to large, |d| = 0.30 to 0.83, and ranged from small to medium for changes in teachers’ well-being |d| = 0.07 to 0.48, occupational health |d| = 0.14 to 0.39, and teaching practices |d| = 0.15 to 0.48. Teachers suggested shortening the program and linking it more closely to their work in the classroom.

Conclusions

This study suggests that the MBEB program may be beneficial to early elementary teachers, even when implemented by someone other than the program developer, and when provided with extrinsic motivation to participate (more closely mapping to a larger-scale trial of the program). Teachers’ suggestions regarding program length and structure are considered, along with useful avenues for future research on mindfulness-based programs for teachers.

Updating the Debate on Behavioral Competency Development: State of the Art and Future Challenges

Emotional, social, and cognitive intelligence competencies have been recognized as the most critical capabilities for organizations to acquire at all levels. For this reason, a wide body of research since the 1980s has demonstrated their positive impact on individual performance, career success, and wellbeing across sectors and professional roles, and a large number of theoretical contributions on how these competencies can be effectively developed has emerged over time. We focus attention on the developmental and learning processes of emotional, social, and cognitive intelligence competencies that occur after formal training or educational courses provided by universities or certified organizations and directed to students or practitioners. Specifically, we conduct an exploratory literature review on the existing academic studies in order to identify the scholars and the pieces of research contributing most to the debate under investigation. This article aims at analyzing this body of research through a systematic review of the literature in order to: (i) provide a comprehensive critical analysis of the distinctive features of the theoretical and methodological frameworks adopted to develop these competencies; (ii) review the contexts in which the training initiatives analyzed by the literature have been delivered and the categories of learner involved; (iii) discuss the learning outcomes of these educational programs and how they have been assessed; (iv) identify gaps and inconsistencies in the current state of the literature, suggesting promising paths for future research; and (v) stimulate insights for educators, human resource managers, executives, and policymakers by organizing and critically analyzing the extant contributions on competency development. This review represents the first attempt to systematize the methodologies of the educational programs for competency development and to assess their effectiveness in order to assist educators and executives in their ongoing efforts to equip students and employees with the relevant skills needed to achieve superior performance in the workplace. At the institutional level, policymakers should promote a dedicated agenda with concrete actions to equip people with emotional and social intelligence competencies.

Advances in understanding and intervening in teacher stress and coping: The Coping-Competence-Context Theory

Teacher stress and burnout are associated with many adverse outcomes for teachers, students, and the educational system. This paper describes the Coping-Competence-Context (3C) Theory of Teacher Stress. The theory is based on empirical research on teacher stress and coping highlighted within this special issue and attempts to more explicitly highlight three critical interconnected pathways to teacher stress development and intervention. The 3C model also highlights why teacher stress is important and should be the topic of future inquiry by showing clear links between teacher stress and adverse student and teacher outcomes. Lastly, this paper provides guidance for leverage points to intervene and describes a future research agenda in three domains: measurement, conceptual, and intervention issues and challenges.