The effect of a meditation training in stress levels in secondary school teachers

Abstract

Teachers experience a high level of stress and burnout. Meditation training, which has previously been found to help individuals manage stress, may be an ideal low-cost stress management technique for teachers. A pilot study was run to test the effectiveness of meditation training for student teachers. Subjects were recruited from a university teaching credential program and assigned to either a meditation training or control group. Subjects in the meditation training were taught the RISE response, which includes a simple meditation technique using sound as a focusing device and three corollary techniques. The program prescribed a formal meditation practice period while the three corollary practices were to be used at any time to remind subjects to focus attention. Subjects assigned to the meditation group attended four 45-minute meditation training sessions. The meditation group subjects were found to significantly reduce their stress symptoms in the post-test measurements when compared to the control group in the domains of emotional manifestations, gastronomic distress and behavioral manifestations. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.