13 General Introduction This shifted the perspective from a Buddhist moral system to an ethically secularized mindfulness accessible to all (Hanley et al., 2016). Post-2000, mindfulness research evolved into the evaluation of a psychological intervention for enhanced well-being (Hanley et al., 2016). This era also witnessed the increase of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in the mindfulness research community (Lee et al., 2021). Mindfulness is characterized as “the awareness that arises through purposeful, nonjudgmental attention to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” (KabatZinn, 2003, p.145). The original MBSR-program, developed by Kabat-Zinn (2013) is a group-based intervention consisting of eight weekly sessions of two hours and one day of silent practice. The program consists of three primary components: (1) formal and informal meditation exercises, such as sitting meditation and yoga; (2) dialogue and (3) psychoeducation about stress and stress responses. Participants are encouraged to practice mindfulness at home for at least 35 minutes each day during the entire course of MBSR. The core of MBSR involves cultivating mindfulness skills, allowing participants to direct their attention to the present moment through the development of an observing stance towards their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This practice improves the capacity to identify habitual reaction patterns, empowering individuals to make conscious choices. Participants develop the ability to respond with reduced reactivity to negative thoughts and emotions (Fanning et al., 2018; Rad et al., 2023, Gilbert & Waltz, 2010). While MBSR initially focused on stress and pain management, it has evolved over time and is now applied in a much broader context. Today, MBSR is used not only for stress reduction but also to prevent well-being. MBSR is based in science and contemporary approaches managing mental and physical health and supporting well-being; it is suitable for delivery in mainstream public institutions across a range of settings and cultures; and is maximally accessible to people with diverse values and religious affiliations (Crane et al., 2017). Mindfulness-Based Interventions for teachers Research on Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) for teachers has expanded over the last two decades (Jennings, 2017). However, a significant research gap exists in studies specifically addressing elementary school teachers (Jennings, 2017). A limited number of RCTs, infrequent preregistration of study protocols, and rare follow-up assessments characterize the current state of research in this context. Elementary school teachers, who engage daily with their pupils, cultivate stronger pupil-teacher relationships and experience a stronger emotional involvement in teaching compared to teachers in secondary or higher education (Statistics Netherlands, 2020). Therefore, elementary school teachers may experience more profound effects from MBIs. For example in the experienced quality of pupil-teacher relationship and the quality of the classroom climate, which in turn is related to the teachers’ experienced stress (Collie et al., 2017; Corbin et al., 2019; Jennings et al., 2017; Lomas et al., 2017). Furthermore, while most studies on MBIs in education were conducted in the United States, European educational systems, where 1
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