53 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for elementary school teachers: a randomized controlled trial INTRODUCTION Being a teacher is widely acknowledged as one of the most demanding professions (Lomas et al., 2017). This holds particularly true for elementary school teachers in the Netherlands, who report higher levels of burnout symptoms and increasing absenteeism compared to other professions (Statistics Netherlands, 2022). One in five elementary school teachers exits the educational system within five years (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2022), with one in eight leaving due to reasons such as sickness, disability, or retirement (Statistics Netherlands, 2018). Elementary school teachers, interacting with their pupils on a daily basis, experience a stronger emotional involvement in teaching and cultivate stronger pupil-teacher relationships compared to teachers in secondary or higher education (Statistics Netherlands, 2020). Therefore, elementary school teachers may experience more profound effects from a stress reduction intervention. These benefits may manifest in various aspects, such as improved quality of pupil-teacher relationships and classroom climate quality, factors closely linked to teachers’ perceived stress (Collie et al., 2017; Corbin et al., 2019; Jennings et al., 2017; Lomas et al., 2017). Moreover, there is a notable scarcity of research on interventions addressing stress among elementary school teachers (Jennings et al., 2017). A limited number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), infrequent preregistration of study protocols, and rare follow-up assessments characterize the current state of research in this context. In response to this concerning trend, the current preregistered randomizedcontrolled trial aims to assess the effectiveness of the standard Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program on the perceived stress levels (primary outcome) of Dutch elementary school teachers. This research endeavors to address the following key inquiries: 1. Does participation in the standard MBSR training lead to a decrease in perceived stress and an enhancement in well-being among elementary school teachers? 2. To what degree do mindfulness skills, emotion regulation, and self-compassion serve as secondary proximal outcomes in the context of MBSR training? 3. To what degree do teacher self-efficacy and their perceived pupil-teacher relationship and classroom climate quality serve as secondary distal outcomes in the context of MBSR training? 4. Are the effects of the MBSR training moderated by factors such as past or present psychological problems, school weight, years of teaching experience, and age? THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Effects of stress on teachers Increased perceived stress is associated with diminished emotional, psychological, and social well-being, along with lower performance (de Carvalho et al., 2021). It also negatively impacts teacher self-efficacy, influencing instructional practices, adaptability, 4
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