Teaching is undeniably a fulfilling career path, yet it’s equally recognized as one of the most demanding and stressful professions. The CARE (Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education) program stands out as a distinctive initiative meticulously crafted to empower teachers, educators, and administrators. CARE provides essential tools to effectively manage stress and revitalize their teaching approach. It achieves this by fostering crucial inner resources: awareness, presence, compassion, reflection, and inspiration. These elements are vital for educators to nurture students’ holistic development – socially, emotionally, and academically.
Cutting-edge neuroscience underscores the profound benefits of mindfulness practices. Consistent mindfulness cultivates heightened awareness and self-regulation skills, leading to a calmer and more focused mind. This state of mind is characterized by openness, responsiveness, and sensitivity – qualities that are paramount for optimal teaching, guidance, and effective learning environments. For all professionals in education, these inner resources are instrumental in developing the robust emotional strength required to be fully present and emotionally attuned in their roles. Consequently, educators equipped with these skills evolve into more impactful guides and serve as influential role models for healthy social and emotional conduct.
CARE Program: Design and Implementation
Grounded in contemporary research concerning the neuroscience of emotion, the CARE program incorporates emotion skills training to boost the understanding, recognition, and regulation of emotions. To mitigate stress and cultivate heightened awareness and presence in teaching practices, CARE introduces foundational mindfulness exercises. These range from brief moments of quiet reflection to more advanced activities designed to demonstrate the application of mindfulness in challenging scenarios commonly faced by educators. Through active participation in these exercises, educators learn to infuse their classrooms with greater calmness, mindfulness, and awareness. This, in turn, strengthens their relationships with students, refines classroom management techniques, and enhances curricular delivery. Furthermore, the CARE program fosters empathy and compassion through practices centered on caring interactions and mindful listening.
An adapted version of CARE has been specifically developed to support the personal growth and leadership capabilities of principals, assistant principals, and other school administrators. The CARE program has also been successfully implemented with faculty in higher education settings to refine their awareness and presence in their teaching methodologies.
The CARE program’s adaptability is evident in its various delivery formats, tailored to suit diverse contexts. The annual retreat held at the Garrison Institute provides an immersive four-day experience. Alternatively, CARE is also offered as a series of day-long workshops distributed over several months, with ongoing online support provided between sessions. This blended approach ensures sustained teacher development in practice and the practical application of newly acquired skills.
“As a teacher educator, I learned and re-learned vital knowledge, skills and attitudes for fostering social, emotional and academic learning in my graduate students, and through them to K-12 student in schools and other learning communities.” – Quote from a CARE program participant.
The program’s methodology integrates didactic instruction with experiential learning activities, including dedicated time for personal reflection and group discussions. Educators who have completed the CARE program often describe it as a relaxing, enjoyable, and deeply inspiring experience. Numerous educators share their personal experiences with the program in this insightful video. The CARE Program has positively impacted educators across various countries, including the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, China, Croatia, and Germany. All CARE program training is exclusively provided by CREATE for Education.
Research Validating the CARE Program’s Effectiveness
In today’s educational landscape marked by elevated stress levels and burnout among teaching staff, school districts are actively seeking scientifically validated methods to support their educators. The CARE professional development program is emerging as a demonstrably effective solution. A robust series of federally funded studies has rigorously examined the effects of CARE on teacher well-being, classroom dynamics, and student outcomes. The findings from this extensive research have been published in numerous peer-reviewed academic journals. Consistently, research findings indicate that participation in the CARE program leads to significant improvements in well-being and a marked reduction in stress levels among educators, when compared to control groups. Detailed research findings are readily accessible at https://createforeducation.org/care/care-research/.
A significant large-scale cluster randomized controlled trial, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and conducted in New York City, involved 224 teachers and over 5,000 students. This comprehensive study corroborated prior research findings regarding teacher improvements and further revealed that CARE positively influences crucial aspects of the classroom environment. Classroom environments were meticulously observed and coded by trained researchers who were unaware of the study’s objectives and the teachers’ randomized assignments. In comparison to control group classrooms, CARE classrooms exhibited a more emotionally positive atmosphere, and teachers demonstrated enhanced sensitivity to their students’ needs. Moreover, CARE classrooms displayed higher levels of productivity compared to control classrooms. A subsequent follow-up report indicated that CARE-trained teachers sustained significant reductions in psychological distress and ache-related physical distress, alongside notable improvements in emotion regulation and specific dimensions of mindfulness. Findings suggest that educators who participated in CARE experienced both lasting and new benefits related to their overall well-being in a follow-up assessment conducted almost one year post-intervention.
These research outcomes hold particular significance for several key reasons. Firstly, the consistent positive results across multiple CARE studies provide compelling evidence that CARE is a highly effective professional development program for mitigating occupational stress and enhancing the well-being of educators. Secondly, the NYC study stands as the largest and most rigorous investigation of a mindfulness-based professional development program for teachers, and it is the pioneering study to explore intervention effects on both classroom and student outcomes. Thirdly, the NYC study’s findings, demonstrating impacts on the classroom environment, are particularly important as they underscore a critical link between teacher well-being and the quality of the classroom environment. Finally, this study serves as a robust “proof of concept,” illustrating that a mindfulness-based intervention can yield positive impacts on individuals and their professional work environment. Tish Jennings provides a detailed discussion of some of the study’s key findings and their implications in this insightful video.
For educators and school districts seeking impactful and evidence-based solutions to support teacher well-being and enhance teaching effectiveness, the CARE program offers a promising and well-researched pathway forward.
