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Handbook of Mindfulness in Education pp 133–148Cite as

CARE for Teachers: A Mindfulness-Based Approach to Promoting Teachers’ Social and Emotional Competence and Well-Being

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Part of the book series: Mindfulness in Behavioral Health ((MIBH))

Abstract

Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education™ (CARE for Teachers) is an in-service professional development program designed by a team of educators and scientific advisors to promote social and emotional competence (SEC) and well-being to help teachers manage classroom stress and enliven their teaching in order to promote improvements in relationships with students, classroom management, and social–emotional learning. Teacher quality is a top priority of our national policy agenda of improving student academic achievement. Supporting teachers’ well-being and their SEC to manage stress and emotion reactivity in the context of the classroom may be key to optimizing their teaching effectiveness. A promising approach for cultivating teachers’ SEC and well-being is through mindfulness-based contemplative practices. Consistent with SEC, Mindful awareness practices (MAPs) involve two primary mechanisms: self-regulation of attention and non-judgmental awareness. Self-regulation of attention promotes awareness of one’s emotional and cognitive experience as it occurs moment-to-moment. Non-judgmental awareness is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance of one’s moment-to-moment experience. The chapter further explains how MAPs may support teacher SEC and well-being and reviews a series of studies of the CARE program that have demonstrated positive effects on teacher well-being, mindfulness, and efficacy. The chapter also outlines a program of research to further examine the mechanisms of change and to examine whether positive outcomes found among teachers may translate into improvement in classroom and student outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Patricia A. Jennings

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  1. Patricia A. Jennings
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Correspondence to Patricia A. Jennings .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept Educational & Counselling Psyc, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl

  2. Portland, Oregon, USA

    Robert W. Roeser

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Jennings, P.A. (2016). CARE for Teachers: A Mindfulness-Based Approach to Promoting Teachers’ Social and Emotional Competence and Well-Being. In: Schonert-Reichl, K., Roeser, R. (eds) Handbook of Mindfulness in Education. Mindfulness in Behavioral Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3506-2_9

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