Compassion Informed Mindfulness For Teachers: A Case Study

The professional duties of teaching can be stressful. The social pressures many teachers face beyond their workday (finances, family, career, peers, etc.) may exacerbate their feelings of work stress. Mindfulness-based practices in education show evidence they can alleviate teachers’ stress. The purpose of this study was to explore the framework of compassion as informed mindfulness in the professional lives of educators. Compassion Informed Mindfulness for Teachers (CIMT) was an original 6-week mindfulness-based intervention protocol (90 min. per week) addressing compassion, self-compassion, common humanity, mindfulness, and resilience exclusively for educators. Analysis of data through an ethnographic case study, supported by triangulated mixed-methodological design, suggests CIMT corroborates research supporting the efficacy of mindfulness in education. Pre-CIMT and post-CIMT analysis suggests case participants learned how to meditate, learned skills addressing self-criticism and greater self-compassion, were less over-identified with stressors, reported greater mental spaciousness and awareness, and reported less reactivity to stress. This research supports the continued and widespread use of mindfulness-based interventions in school environments. Instructing teachers and other school personnel the skills of mindfully reframing difficult interactions could have broad implications for school communities. Further recommendations for action include: instructing prominent stakeholders the pedagogical value of mindfulness and compassion; promoting CIMT as a staff developmental protocol in schools and districts; and promoting compassion and mindfulness programs in higher education, especially leadership and credentialing programs for educators. CIMT is positioned as a protocol to research and a framework to live by

Time-out for well-being: A mixed methods evaluation of attitudes and likelihood to engage in different types of online emotional well-being programmes in the perinatal period

Background: Positive maternal mental health during the perinatal period contributes to general well-being and positive emotional bonds with the child, encouraging an optimal developmental trajectory. Online interventions to enhance maternal well-being and develop coping skills, such as meditation-based interventions, can be a low-cost way to improve mother and child outcomes. However, this depends on end-user engagement. To date, there is limited evidence about women’s willingness to engage and preferences for online programmes. Objectives: This study explored pregnant women’s attitudes towards and likelihood to undertake minimal online well-being training programmes (mindfulness, self-compassion, or general relaxation), engagement barriers and enablers, and programme structure preferences. Design: A mixed methods triangulation design was undertaken using a validating quantitative model. Quantile regressions were applied to the quantitative data. Content analysis was undertaken for the qualitative data. Methods: Consenting pregnant women (n = 151) were randomized equally to read about three online programme types. Participants were sent an information leaflet, tested by a consumer panel prior to distribution. Results: Participants generally held positive attitudes about all three types of interventions, with no statistically significant differences in preferences between programme types. Participants appreciated the importance of mental health and were receptive to fostering skills to support their emotional well-being and stress management. The most frequent perceived barriers were lack of time, tiredness, and forgetfulness. Programme structure preferences indicated one to two modules per week, less than 15 min in duration, and over 4 weeks. Programme functionality, such as regular reminders and easy accessibility, is important to end users. Conclusion: Our findings reinforce the importance of determining participant preferences in designing and communicating engaging interventions for perinatal women. This research contributes to the understanding of population-based interventions that can be provided as simple, scalable, cost-effective, and home-based activities in pregnancy for the benefit of individuals, their families, and society more broadly

Cultivating Compassion, Humanizing Legal Rhetoric Through Dance Performance

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this research asks: can dance serve as a connective force that transcends beyond the legal writing of this case to offer a holistic model of legal communication? This project will result in a fulllength performance divided into three sections that energetically reconstruct the three part test discussed in the Supreme Court case Frontiero v. Richardson , which struck down a statute that commanded dissimilar treatment for men and women similarly situated and tested historical oppression, political powerlessness and immutability in relation to gender. Dance will serve as a second form of communication, igniting empathetic feelings for those, like the transgender community, inherently impacted by the court’s decision. Additionally, a written component will illustrate the documented movement research and artistic choices made in terms of lighting, costuming, and structure, as well as the choreographic tools, and themes of the work, that, in culmination, will assist the energetic reconstruction of the case. This research suggests that through viewing this movement in performance, the audience member may experience the emotional significance of this case through dance and, in conjunction, experience empathetic and compassionate feelings towards those persons affected by the ruling of Frontiero v. Richardson and its legal precedence

Outsider Women: Understanding Women’s Roles in White Supremacist Deradicalization

Prior scholarship has suggested that women of color and other outsiders (i.e., those not affiliated with White supremacist hate groups) have significantly facilitated the deradicalization of White supremacist hate group members. However, few empirical studies focus on the lived experiences of outsider women who have helped hate group members disengage and deradicalize. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to explore the experiences of women who facilitated the disengagement and deradicalization of White supremacist hate group members. The first author conducted interviews among four women who had significant experience regarding the phenomenon of interest. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as a methodological framework, the authors identified five themes from participants’ rich descriptions of their experiences facilitating hate group exit: (a) identifying love as driving force behind exit facilitation, (b) developing their exit facilitation approach, (c) experiencing costs of helping others exit, (d) identifying areas for increased external exit support, and (e) offering recommendations for hate group exit facilitation. By examining this specific population, we hoped to gain insights into new avenues of development for disengagement and deradicalization interventions. Editorial Note: An error was corrected in Table 1 in the annex. A corrected version was uploaded an published January 11, 2024

Theorizing Feminist Ethics of Care in Early Childhood Practice

This open access book responds to a growing academic interest in theorizing care and care work in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. The contributors theorize a new feminist ethics of care in everyday early childhood practice, revealing its complexities and importance. Drawing on feminist theories and philosophies, the chapter authors show how the caring practices of early childhood educators involve values, emotions, decision-making, action and work. Using cutting-edge theory, authors address the social locations and the inclusion and exclusion of both care givers and care receivers. With contributions from Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA, the volume brings together early childhood studies, sociology, psychology, philosophy and critical disability studies to offer diverse perspectives on feminist ethics of care in early childhood practice and its possibilities and dangers. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com

Complete Issue 55(1)

Complete digitized issue (volume 55, issue 1, Spring 2018) of Speaker & Gavel

Theorizing Feminist Ethics of Care in Early Childhood Practice

This open access book responds to a growing academic interest in theorizing care and care work in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. The contributors theorize a new feminist ethics of care in everyday early childhood practice, revealing its complexities and importance. Drawing on feminist theories and philosophies, the chapter authors show how the caring practices of early childhood educators involve values, emotions, decision-making, action and work. Using cutting-edge theory, authors address the social locations and the inclusion and exclusion of both care givers and care receivers. With contributions from Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA, the volume brings together early childhood studies, sociology, psychology, philosophy and critical disability studies to offer diverse perspectives on feminist ethics of care in early childhood practice and its possibilities and dangers. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com