Perceptions of mindful teaching and longitudinal change in high school students' mindfulness and compassion
Open Access
Author:
Colaianne, Blake
Graduate Program:
Human Development and Family Studies
Degree:
Master of Science
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
April 15, 2019
Committee Members:
Robert William Roeser, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Keywords:
mindfulness compassion adolescence teachers
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine how student perceptions of mindful teaching are associated with changes in students’ mindfulness, self-compassion, and compassion for others across a single high school year. We hypothesized two pathways of effect: a direct path whereby when high school students perceive their teachers as demonstrating mindful qualities, they are more likely to emulate these qualities; and an indirect path whereby mindful teachers affect student outcomes by providing an environment that fulfills the developmental needs of students. To test these hypotheses, a short-term longitudinal study of high school students (N = 599) was conducted in which student outcomes from the beginning to the end of the school year were regressed on perceptions of mindful teachers at the beginning of the year, and need fulfillment in school during the midpoint of the school year. Results revealed support for the indirect path: students’ perceptions of school need fulfillment significantly mediated the association between students’ perceptions of mindful teachers and changes in their own mindfulness, self-compassion, and compassion for others over time. Results are discussed in terms of how mindful teachers might represent a kind of social affordance for students, one in which the needs of students are seen and fulfilled, and, as a result, one in which the students may be more willing to emulate and internalize the qualities of their teachers.