Background

Mindfulness – the conscious presence, here and now – improves your well-being and can help you to develop your personality. Participants of mindfulness-based courses (e.g. MBSR) report on the one hand a reduction of stress and depressive feelings, and on the other hand an improved feeling of happiness, equilibrium and relaxation, and therefore a higher quality of living. Additionally, they talk about dealing better in conflict situation, both in the private and professional context.

The intervention of this study is similar to the well-known and established MBSR format, including among others meditations, yoga and relaxation exercises. To make transfer to work situations easier for this particular target audience awareness exercises in communication and from theatre pedagogy have been included.

Aims of the Mindfulness-Training

During the course you'll be able to learn:

• perceiving thoughts and feelings more consciously
• recognizing behavioural patterns in order to mould them in a more effective and compassionate (towards others and yourself) manner
• improving concentration and regulation of awareness, i.e. reducing frequency and duration of distractions and procrastination
• … and you'll be able to take home a couple of techniques for relaxation as well as development of your personality

Aims of the study

During the German teacher training (a structured induction phase after university studies) a mindfulness training is offered. The study aims to find out whether this course helps teacher trainees to deal with the challenges of this phase in a more healthy and successful way.

The young teachers participate in the training in the first part of their apprenticeship. Data is collected before, just after and half a year after the intervention. Participants have to fill self-report questionnaires, do concentration tests, and while teaching a class they are filmed and their heart rate is being measured.

Time line for measurements