Mindfulness and connection training during preservice teacher education reduces early career teacher attrition 4 years later

Abstract

Early career teacher attrition disrupts school continuity, precludes many of those who leave from achieving expertise, and drains economic resources from school systems. In a longitudinal cluster randomized controlled trial (k = 8, n = 98), we examined the impact of a 9-week meditation-based intervention on undergraduate preservice teachers' rates of attrition from teaching approximately 4 years later. The odds of attrition among intervention group participants 3 years into their teaching careers were significantly reduced by at least 77.0% regardless of modeling approach (Odds ratios = 0.13-0.23, ps ≤ 0.013) compared to teacher education as usual controls. In benefit-cost analyses, we estimated that for every $1 spent on the intervention, hiring districts saved $3.43 in replacement teacher costs. Additional research is required to replicate the core finding of reduced attrition and understand the pathways through which the intervention caused these reductions.

Keywords: Benefit-cost analysis; Mindfulness; Teacher attrition; Teacher education; Teacher retention.