15 General Introduction skills (i.e. observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judgement and nonreactivity) and psychological well-being. Also, small effects were found on pupil-teacher relationship and modest effects on classroom climate quality. The duration and dosage of MBIs varied widely, with effects ranging from small to medium. Another systematic review by Hwang and colleagues (2017), which included only 9 out of 19 studies that overlapped with those reviewed by Klingbeil and Renshaw (2018) and also incorporated qualitative research, found large effects on perceived stress and mindfulness skills, moderate effects on self-compassion, and small effects on teacher self-efficacy. A meta‐analysis of mindfulness training on teacher well‐being by Zarate et al. (2019), which included 18 control‐trial studies, 16 of which were from the meta‐analysis by Klingbeil and Renshaw (2018) involved a total of 1,001 in‐service teachers using mindfulness as a primary intervention. The analysis suggests that mindfulness has statistically significant positive outcomes, including increases in teacher mindfulness and decreases in stress. The small to moderate overall effects of mindfulness practices for teachers are consistent with the findings of Klingbeil and Renshaw (2018). While these overview studies show promising effects, it is noteworthy that they primarily include studies from the USA, involving a mixed teacher population. The recent study of De Carvalho and colleagues (2021) stands out as one of the few European RCTs, focusing specifically on elementary school teachers in Portugal. This study reported increased well-being, mindfulness skills, emotional regulation, and self-efficacy in the intervention group. However, only short-term benefits for the classroom climate were observed. Mechanisms of Change To understand why an intervention generates effects, it is not enough to only focus on direct outcomes. Only a few studies report the mechanisms of change in MBI program outcomes (Emerson et al., 2017). Understanding the working mechanisms and essential elements of mindfulness interventions is crucial for comprehending the effectiveness of MBSR programs. This knowledge will facilitate the development of more effective MBSR programs for teachers in the future. Both Schlusser and colleagues (2016) and Taylor and colleagues (2016) suggested that increased emotion regulation efficacy may serve as a potential mediator in stress reduction as a consequence of MBSR. A systematic review and narrative synthesis by Emerson and colleagues (2017) was conducted on 13 samples of quantitative and qualitative studies that reported the effects of MBIs on symptoms of stress, emotion regulation, and self-efficacy in teachers of children aged 5–18 years. They concluded that MBIs, including SMART, CARE, and adapted MBSR, improved mindfulness skills, emotion regulation, and self-compassion. Regarding intermediate effects on stress reduction, they concluded that MBIs showed the strongest promise for enhancing teacher emotion regulation. According to Emerson and colleagues (2017), research on MBIs often includes the measurement of trait mindfulness and selfcompassion as indicators of cognitive changes that may lead to broader changes, such as decreased stress. 1
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