ABSTRACT Objective: Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly applied in educational settings to reduce stress and improve well-being and performance in teachers. However, effects on European elementary school teachers are understudied so far. The aim of this explorative qualitative study is to obtain a more in-depth view of elementary school teachers’ perceptions of the impact of a standard eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program on their personal functioning, their professional functioning, and on the classroom climate quality. Methods: In total, 46 elementary school teachers from 23 different elementary schools participated in this study. Twenty of these were interviewed 16 weeks after completing MBSR using semi-structured focus groups. The other 26 teachers were interviewed during their last session of MBSR. Thematic analysis identified themes that described teachers’ experiences. Results: The thematic analysis showed that the effect of mindfulness resulted in positive changes, categorized in three main themes: (a) changes affecting the teacher personally, e.g. more insight in patterns, (b) changes affecting the teacher professionally, e.g. more awareness during teaching, and (c) changes affecting the pupils as observed by the teacher, e.g. improved classroom climate. Conclusions: This study suggests that a standard MBSR program could be a valuable contribution to elementary school teachers’ personal and professional functioning, as well as on their classroom climate quality. Additional quantitative research on the effectiveness of MBSR training in an elementary school setting is recommended.
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