BackgroundThe beginning of the career of teachers is a demanding phase. In the combined
roles of teacher and trainee, and in the shift from academic to practical
learning, trainee teachers have to acquire competencies in teaching as well
as coping with stress. In this phase, the phenomenon of “reality shock” is
widely observed.ObjectiveA mindfulness training was developed to support teacher trainees during their
first year. This intervention study investigated perceived and physiological
stress at teachers’ career start and the stress reducing effects of the
mindfulness training in this phase.MethodsIn a quasi-experimental design, 19 out of 42 participants from this sample
underwent mindfulness-based stress reduction training and a wait-list
control group (N = 23) underwent a compact course after post measurements.
We measured physiological stress parameters and perceived stress at 3
different time points. Heart rate signals were acquired in ambulatory
assessment sequences, including teaching, rest periods, and cognitive tasks.
The data were analyzed in linear mixed-effects models.ResultsWe found high physiological stress in the very beginning of teacher training,
which attenuated over time. The mindfulness intervention only led to a
greater reduction in heart rate (d= .53 to .74) in
situations where the intervention group had shown higher heart rate levels
initially, but not in heart rate variability. However, the mindfulness group
significantly reduced (d= .63) their perceived stress and
maintained (d= .55) this improvement, while the control
group maintained a highly elevated perceived stress level throughout.ConclusionThe mindfulness training could reduce subjective stress, which otherwise
seems to be a long-lasting aspect of beginning teachers’ “reality shock”.
Indications of a superior reduction of physiological stress in demanding
situations were weak, while generally, undue physiological stress seems to
be a temporary phenomenon in the initial phase of teacher induction.