Examining K-12 Teachers’ Use and Perceptions of Mindfulness and Meditation to Improve Mental Health Outcomes for Students

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

• Anna H. HallFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Clemson University

First Presenter’s Email Address

ah2@clemson.edu

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Anna Hall is a Professor of Early Childhood Education at Clemson University. She teaches Language Arts in the Primary Grades and Capstone courses for Seniors. Her research focuses on early childhood writing and mindfulness.

Submitter

I am submitting this proposal as one of the presenter(s)

Location

Percival

Strand #1

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Strand #2

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

The proposal relates to Health because teachers' mindfulness and meditation practices can directly influence their relationship with students. This study explored how teachers use these practices to reduce stress, be more present, and improve their emotional well-being in order to improve children's mental health in the classroom.

Brief Program Description

Teacher stress and burnout have increased over the past decade, leading to increased interest in mindfulness as a means to enhance teacher well-being. This presentation will share findings about the perceptions and practices of mindfulness from a survey of 450 South Carolina K-12 teachers. Participants will explore the potential of mindfulness to support teacher well-being to directly impact students' mental health by creating a peaceful and compassionate classroom environment.

Summary

Over the last decade, teacher stress has been steadily increasing. In a study of elementary educators, almost all participating teachers (93%) reported experiencing high levels of stress. Several factors contribute to the high-stress nature of teaching, including school-related factors (i.e., relationships with colleagues, administrative support, level of parent and student engagement), classroom-related factors (i.e., classroom management, challenging student behaviors), and personal factors (i.e., workload, level of support, teacher agency and feelings of control, years of experience; Czerwinski et al., 2021.

To teach effectively, teachers must sustain engagement, focus their attention, practice mental flexibility and emotional regulation, and demonstrate resilience (Braun et al., 2019). Teachers make hundreds of decisions daily that may impact the cognitive, social, and emotional development of the children or adolescents in their classrooms (Crain et al., 2016). Understanding the causes of teacher stress and the impact of stress on the educational environment is critical to support and retain teachers (Jennings et al., 2017).

Teachers who are highly stressed may also transmit their stress to their students (Zarate et al., 2019). Heightened stress can alter a teacher's perception of student behaviors and their responses to challenging behavior. Teachers with high stress have a higher quantity of behavior referrals and are more likely to use punitive methods in response to student behaviors (Von de Embse et al., 2019). Focusing on teacher mental health is critical as teacher well-being is essential for a positive classroom environment and effective social-emotional teaching (DiCarlo et al., 2020).

Identifying ways like mindfulness to support teachers in managing stress and reducing burnout is important not only for the health and well-being of teachers but also for their students (Hidajat et al., 2023). When teachers have low to moderate stress levels, they are more available to interact with their students in developmentally appropriate ways (Roeser et al., 2022). Students rely on teachers to model emotional skills, and teachers need tools that support their mental health and well-being to portray positive social and emotional skills (Eva & Thayer, 2017). This presentation will provide how-to strategies for incorporating mindfulness into the classroom setting to improve teacher and student well-being.

Evidence

Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional model of stress and coping (TMSC) can be used to help conceptualize teacher stress. This model positions stress as the result of two appraisals: the first cognitive appraisal of a situation determines the level of threat, and the second appraisal determines the available resources to cope with the threat. When an individual determines that the level of threat exceeds the available resources to cope, they experience stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987). When the available resources for coping with stress exceed the level of threat, individuals have more emotional and mental resources to expend on other tasks. This theory indicates that teachers who have high levels of coping resources have more mental and emotional energy to spend on interactions with students, compassion, classroom management, and effective teaching methods (Braun et al., 2019).

Mindfulness and other emotional regulation resources have been identified as promising coping resources that can be learned and used to proactively manage stress (Wagner et al., 2024). Research has shown that mindfulness can be used as an internal resource to cope positively with stress, anxiety, and depression (Kowitattawatee & Limphaibool, 2022). Individuals who regularly practice mindfulness are better able to reappraise situations and available methods to cope, which enables them to handle stressors more proactively and with less emotional exhaustion (McRobbie, 2021; Crain et al., 2016).

Learning Objective 1

Examine current trends in perceptions of mindfulness by K-12 teachers

Learning Objective 2

Examine current practices related to mindfulness and meditation by K-12 teachers

Learning Objective 3

Learn how-to strategies for incorporating mindfulness into the classroom setting to improve teacher and student well-being.

Keyword Descriptors

Mindfulness, meditation, teacher perceptions, K-12, mental health

Presentation Year

2026

Start Date

3-2-2026 2:45 PM

End Date

3-2-2026 4:00 PM

Recommended Citation

Hall, Anna H., "Examining K-12 Teachers’ Use and Perceptions of Mindfulness and Meditation to Improve Mental Health Outcomes for Students" (2026). National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference. 22.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2026/2026/22