Papers by Deborah Schussler
School Mental Health, Dec 10, 2023
Grantee Submission, 2017
nearly one in three students in the united States today is negatively impacted by bullying. Teach... more nearly one in three students in the united States today is negatively impacted by bullying. Teachers can play a critical role in stopping bullying-related violence, but many struggle with how to engage students in difficult conversations. Traditional classroom-based pedagogy used to teach communication skills (e.g., modeling & role-play) is inefficient and limited in scope. recent advances in artificial intelligence have resulted in the development of virtual pedagogical agents designed to simulate authentic conversations and can be leveraged to teach vital communication skills. This exploratory study examines the effectiveness of a "virtual role-play" (VrP) tool developed to help teacher candidates effectively respond to classroom bullying by providing them with opportunities to engage in repeated, authentic practice conversations. We hypothesized that practice in simulated conversations provided by VrP would improve teacher candidates' communication skills by improving their fluency in responding to classroom bullying. our findings revealed that the repeated practice afforded by VrP improved candidates' fluency by helping them focus on more refined word choice, reducing their reliance on written notes, and improving their nonverbal skills. implications regarding use of VrP to prepare candidates to communicate in bullying situations are discussed.
Journal of Moral Education, Jul 24, 2023
Phi Delta Kappan, Feb 1, 2023
In the last 15 years, mindfulness programs have become more popular in schools. However, bringing... more In the last 15 years, mindfulness programs have become more popular in schools. However, bringing mindfulness into schools involves more than selecting a curriculum. It entails creating the conditions for mindfulness that requires a particular kind of leadership: the capacity to lead for and with mindfulness. Authors Deborah L. Schussler, Karen Krisch, Julia Mahfouz, Rebecca N. Baelen, and Laura Feagans Gould highlight common principles and practical examples from educational leaders engaging in this work and share some of the emerging research into mindfulness in education.
Mindfulness, Jul 18, 2023
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, Jul 2, 2023
Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods research is to understand leader stressors, the impact... more Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods research is to understand leader stressors, the impacts of stress, self-care strategies used to mitigate stress, and gender-related differences. Research Methods: School and district leaders in a suburban school district in the northeastern United States ( n = 33) completed a mixed-methods survey. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately. Data were compared and integrated, then interpreted to understand educational leaders’ experiences. Findings: Leaders reported high levels of role-related stress from external pressures, responsibilities related to managing others, interactions with families, and job-related concerns. Impacts of this stress were multifaceted and found to spill over to home. Female leaders were more likely to report stress from concern for the well-being of others and from interactions with teachers and staff. To mitigate effects of stress, leaders engaged in cognitive, emotional, occupational, spiritual, and physical self-care. Female leaders were more likely to report occupational self-care and social support seeking. Implications for Research and Practice: This research suggests that districts should invest in providing mentorship, professional learning communities, and professional development focused on well-being to support educational leaders. More research is needed on individual and school-level characteristics that may influence leader experiences of stress and engagement in self-care.
Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2014
Limit 4 pages single-spaced. Background / Context: Description of prior research and its intellec... more Limit 4 pages single-spaced. Background / Context: Description of prior research and its intellectual context. Contemplative practices take many forms, but much of the empirical research on contemplative interventions has centered on training in mindfulness, most commonly through Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Mindfulness involves both sustained nonjudgmental attention to present moment experience and an orientation of openness, curiosity, and acceptance towards one's experience (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). The cultivation of mindfulness is not unique to MBSR, however, and is probably a core process of developmental change that ensues from training in a variety of contemplative practices, such as various forms of meditation and yoga. Few studies to date have reported evidence for the efficacy of improving teacher and classroom outcomes through contemplative practice with teachers, but this approach is gaining popularity and empirical support. Flook and colleagues (2013) reported a small pilot study (n=18) with elementary school teachers testing a an 8-week modified version of MBSR that made some adaptations to better suit educators and incorporated specific school related practices. The intervention group showed improvements at posttest in several areas that were not observed in the control group, including self-reported psychological distress, mindfulness, self-compassion and burnout, as well as observed classroom performance and performance on attention and emotion processing tasks. Intervention teachers remained stable in their morning peak cortisol levels (measured 30 minutes after waking), while control teachers showed a significant decline in their morning peak cortisol levels, which can be an indicator of the negative effects of stress. The CARE intervention (Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education) draws from the Prosocial Classroom model (Jennings and Greenberg, 2009), and incorporates emotion skills instruction with mindfulness and stress reduction practices (self-regulation of attention and nonjudgmental awareness) and compassion practices (to promote empathy and compassion in the classroom) (Jennings et al., 2011). An initial pilot of CARE suggested the intervention's potential to reduce stress (in the form of time pressure) and improve mindfulness in teachers. A second trial of CARE found that the program was associated with reductions in time pressure and burnout. It was also associated with improvements in some aspects of mindfulness, emotion regulation, physical wellbeing, and efficacy in the classroom. Another recent randomized trial tested the impacts of an 8 week, 11 session mindfulness training program for teachers designed to promote mindfulness and self-compassion and to improve teachers' ability to manage stress (Roeser et al., 2013). This program used experiential exercises, discussions, lectures, small group applications, and homework assignments to promote mindful awareness, attention, emotion regulation, and compassion and to promote the application of these skills during teachers' professional lives for the management of stress. Teachers randomized to this program reported less stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression, and improved in their mindfulness, self-compassion, and attention. This study measured physiological indicators of teachers' wellbeing, including blood pressure and salivary cortisol, but they did not significantly improve due to the intervention.
Mindfulness
Objectives Research on school-based mindfulness programs (SBMPs) indicates promising, albeit mixe... more Objectives Research on school-based mindfulness programs (SBMPs) indicates promising, albeit mixed, effects. However, there has been a lack of consistency and completeness in implementation reporting, frustrating efforts to draw causal inferences about the implementation elements that influence program outcomes. To address these issues, we crafted a conceptual framework with an accompanying set of key terms for SBMP implementation elements to guide the development of flexible and practical implementation reporting recommendations for studies of SBMPs. Methods To develop the framework and recommendations, we drew insights from the implementation science and school-based prevention literature, explored reporting standards across behavioral science fields, and examined reviews and studies of SBMPs that had an implementation focus. Results The SBMP Implementation Framework (SBMP-IF) is organized by four broad categories (i.e., the program, participants, context, and implementation), whi...
Action in Teacher Education
Psychology in the Schools
Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 2021
A small but growing body of research on school-based mindfulness programs (SBMPs) has demonstrate... more A small but growing body of research on school-based mindfulness programs (SBMPs) has demonstrated benefits for students’ cognitive and affective functioning and overall wellbeing. Yet, lack of fidelity in SBMP implementation may diminish these programs’ purported benefits. This commentary presents 4 current challenges that need to be addressed so that questions of whether and how mindfulness improves student functioning can be clarified and implementation of programs can be strengthened and sustained. These challenges include coming to consensus on the definition and intention of mindfulness training, balancing adherence with flexibility in SBMP delivery, determining the role SBMP teachers’ mindfulness experience plays in program fidelity, and delineating distinctive features of mindful pedagogy. Some suggestions for addressing each of these challenges are provided.
The authors respond to a review of their book, Teaching as a Moral Practice: Defining, Developing... more The authors respond to a review of their book, Teaching as a Moral Practice: Defining, Developing, and Assessing Dispositions. The authors emphasize a vision of shared commitments for quality teaching whereby teacher-educators instill and nurture the wisdom and virtue that a moral teacher must possess in order to teach in a variety of circumstances where clear-cut answers do not exist. In addition, teacher-educators help teachers discern how, in that context, they should enact particular knowledge, skills, and commitments to reach desired ends. The key to enact this vision of teaching as a shared, moral practice is critical colleagueship
Encyclopedia of Teacher Education
Mindfulness, 2021
The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a manualized mindfulness-based progr... more The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a manualized mindfulness-based program for adolescents, Learning to Breathe (L2B), on indicators of adolescent social-emotional well-being, mental health, substance use, and executive function. Participants included 251 high school students attending an urban school district who were randomly assigned to required health education classes that offered L2B or the business-as-usual health curriculum. No direct effects on self-report measures were found. Students exposed to L2B demonstrated significant improvements on executive functioning measures related to susceptibility to cognitive interference and working memory. Subsequent tests of moderation revealed beneficial program effects within the treatment group were dependent on rates of practice, and those that used L2B strategies regularly showed small-to-moderate improvements on indices of emotional awareness, emotional clarity, impulse control, social connectedness, mind-wandering, substance use, perceived stress, and self-compassion relative to controls. This study provides mixed support regarding the potential effectiveness of a universal mindfulness program for high school students. The absence of direct effects on self-report measures implies that simply exposing adolescents to a mindfulness curriculum within the context of typical instruction, in the absence of supports for implementation, is unlikely to impact youth socio-emotional well-being or behavior. However, changes in EF favoring the intervention group suggest that possible benefits on tasks related to susceptibility, cognitive interference, and selective attention are possible. Tests of moderation revealed dosage effects, and students who adopt mindfulness practices can indeed benefit on multiple fronts.
Mindfulness
Objective Little is known about the process by which teachers learn the skills necessary to teach... more Objective Little is known about the process by which teachers learn the skills necessary to teach a school-based mindfulness program (SBMP), including how they come to understand and embody mindfulness. The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to explore how teachers experienced implementing an SBMP over time, including their embodiment of mindfulness. Specifically, this study investigated whether teachers experienced any shifts in their thinking or pedagogy that coincided with developing embodiment of mindfulness. Methods Data included in-depth, semi-structured interviews spanning 12–20 months with three 11 th grade health teachers to capture their perspectives at three to four time points during their professional development and implementation of the SBMP Learning to BREATHE (L2B). Thematic analysis identified themes that described teachers’ experiences over time, with particular attention to the mental or pedagogical shifts unique to implementing an SBMP. Results Although L2B aligned well with teachers’ overall teaching beliefs and values, implementing L2B elicited tensions in how teachers’ practices fulfilled their beliefs. These tensions highlighted necessary shifts as teachers worked to implement the program effectively, including embodying mindfulness. The main themes describing these shifts were as follows: (1) teaching to facilitating, (2) approach to classroom management, (3) interactions with and perceptions of students, and (4) adoption of personal mindfulness practice. Navigating these shifts involved embodying attitudinal foundations—patience, non-striving, beginner’s mind, non-judgment, acceptance, letting go, and trust. Conclusions Teacher buy-in to SBMP goals, openness to modifying their own instructional approaches, and ongoing professional development may help enhance embodiment of mindfulness and result in more effective implementation over time.
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Papers by Deborah Schussler