Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction Meditation Technique for Teacher Burnout: A Qualitative Study
Abstract
ABSTRACT An inquiry‐based intervention has been found to have a positive effect on burnout and mental well‐being parameters among teachers. The aim of the current study was to qualitatively evaluate the effect of the inquiry‐based stress reduction (IBSR) meditation technique on the participants. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted before and after the IBSR intervention and were analyzed using the interpretative phenomenological analysis method. Before the intervention, the teachers described emotional overload caused by two main reasons: (1) multiple stressful interactions with students, parents, colleagues, and the educational system, and (2) the ideological load of their profession—trying to fulfill high expectations of performance and the manifesting educational values. Following the intervention, the teachers described a sense of centeredness and a greater ability to accept reality. They reported improvements in setting boundaries, thought flexibility, and self‐awareness. These improvements assisted them in coping with the complex and dynamic nature of their profession. These positive effects suggest that IBSR is an effective technique in reducing teachers' burnout and promoting mental well‐being.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
IBSR has been demonstrated to improve mental health and well-being in adults, including breast cancer survivors, the general population, and teachers.
“IBSR has been demonstrated to improve mental health and well-being in adults and may alleviate psychological and psychosocial symptoms of stuttering.”
From Inquiry based stress reduction (Ibsr) improves overall stuttering experience among adults who stutter: A randomized controlled trial (2021) · cites this paper as [39]
A sample size of 56 participants (28 per group) was calculated to achieve 80% power at a 5% alpha, based on an expected 0.5-point OASES-A gap between groups at T2 and adjustment for at least 15% dropout.
“According to the literature [4,49] we hypothesized that at the end of the intervention program (at T2), a 0.5-point gap at this test would be obtained between the intervention group and the control group. Furthermore, after adjustment of at least 15% of dropout rate that was expected in the study [36,38,39] a required sample size of 56 participants was calculated in order to achieve an alpha of 5%”
From Inquiry based stress reduction (Ibsr) improves overall stuttering experience among adults who stutter: A randomized controlled trial (2021) · cites this paper as [39]
Cites
Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being.
Ryff, C. D. (1989) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069 · Cited by 14,847 · see citing works
Positive psychology: An introduction.
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.5 · Cited by 11,351 · see citing works
(1996) · Consulting Psychologists Press eBooks · Cited by 7,863 · see citing works
Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition.
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., Segal, Z. V., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D., et al. (2004) · Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice · doi:10.1093/clipsy.bph077 · Cited by 7,234 · see citing works
Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.20593 · Cited by 2,955 · see citing works
Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life
Kwee, M. G. T. (1995) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(95)90133-7 · Cited by 2,900 · see citing works
Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation
Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2008) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005 · Cited by 2,659 · see citing works
Keyes, C. L. M. (2007) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.62.2.95 · Cited by 2,268 · see citing works
Positive psychology interventions: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies
Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G. J., Riper, H., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. (2013) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-119 · Cited by 1,996 · see citing works
Psychological Well-Being in Adult Life
Ryff, C. D. (1995) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-8721.ep10772395 · Cited by 1,947 · see citing works
Maslach, C. (2003) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-8721.01258 · Cited by 1,492 · see citing works
Anterior cerebral asymmetry and the nature of emotion
Davidson, R. J. (1992) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/0278-2626(92)90065-t · Cited by 1,381 · see citing works
Mindful emotion regulation: an integrative review
Chambers, R., Gullone, E., & Allen, N. B. (2009) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.06.005 · Cited by 1,360 · see citing works
Melamed, S., Shirom, A., Toker, S., Berliner, S., & Shapira, I. (2006) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.327 · Cited by 943 · see citing works
Social influences on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being
Davidson, R. J., & McEwen, B. S. (2012) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.3093 · Cited by 892 · see citing works
Burnout prevention: A review of intervention programs
Awa, W. L., Plaumann, M., & Walter, U. (2010) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2009.04.008 · Cited by 827 · see citing works
Mindfulness for Teachers: A Pilot Study to Assess Effects on Stress, Burnout, and Teaching Efficacy
Flook, L., Goldberg, S. B., Pinger, L., Bonus, K., & Davidson, R. J. (2013) · Mind, Brain, and Education · doi:10.1111/mbe.12026 · Cited by 682 · see citing works
Burnout: An Overview of 25 Years of Research and Theorizing
Schaufeli, W. B., & Buunk, B. P. (2002) · doi:10.1002/0470013400.ch19 · Cited by 666 · see citing works
PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH. CONCEPTS, EMERGING EVIDENCE, PRACTICE
Stenius, K. (2007) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2007.02046.x · Cited by 563 · see citing works
How many qualitative interviews is enough
Baker, S., & Edwards, R. (2012) · Cited by 409 · see citing works
Contemplative/emotion training reduces negative emotional behavior and promotes prosocial responses.
Kemeny, M. E., Foltz, C., Cavanagh, J. F., Cullen, M., Giese-Davis, J., Jennings, P., Rosenberg, E. L., Gillath, O., Shaver, P. R., Wallace, B. A., et al. (2012) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0026118 · Cited by 391 · see citing works
Schwandt, T. A. (2007) · The SAGE Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry · doi:10.4135/97814129862681.n287 · Cited by 372 · see citing works
Honkonen, T., Ahola, K., Pertovaara, M., Isometsä, E. T., Kalimo, R., Nykyri, E., Aromaa, A., & Lönnqvist, J. K. (2006) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2005.10.002 · Cited by 342 · see citing works
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for Primary School Teachers
Gold, E., Smith, A., Hopper, I., Herne, D., Tansey, G., & Hulland, C. (2010) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-009-9344-0 · Cited by 288 · see citing works
Correlation between burnout syndrome and psychological and psychosomatic symptoms among teachers
Bauer, J., Stamm, A., Virnich, K., Wissing, K., Müller, U., Wirsching, M., & Schaarschmidt, U. (2005) · International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health · doi:10.1007/s00420-005-0050-y · Cited by 287 · see citing works
Tai chi and mindfulness-based stress reduction in a boston public middle school
Wall, R. B. (2005) · Journal of Pediatric Health Care · doi:10.1016/j.pedhc.2005.02.006 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
Ahola, K., Väänänen, A., Koskinen, A., Kouvonen, A., & Shirom, A. (2010) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2010.01.002 · Cited by 241 · see citing works
Well-Being, Burnout and Competence : Implications for Teachers.
Pillay, H. K., Goddard, R., & Wilss, L. A. (2005) · The Australian journal of teacher education · doi:10.14221/ajte.2005v30n2.3 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Behaviour change for better health: nutrition, hygiene and sustainability
Newson, R. S., Lion, R., Crawford, R. J., Curtis, V. A., Elmadfa, I., Feunekes, G. I. J., Hicks, C., van Liere, M. J., Lowe, C. F., Meijer, G. W., et al. (2013) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-s1-s1 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Clinical Trials of Meditation Practices in Health Care: Characteristics and Quality
Ospina, M., Bond, K., Karkhaneh, M., Buscemi, N., Dryden, D., Barnes, V., Carlson, L., Dusek, J., & Shannahoff-Khalsa, D. (2008) · Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/acm.2008.0307 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
de Heus, P., & Diekstra, R. F. W. (1999) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511527784.019 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Elder, C. R., Nidich, S. I., Moriarty, F., & Nidich, R. (2014) · The Permanente Journal · doi:10.7812/tpp/13-102 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Reducing Teachers' Psychological Distress through a Mindfulness Training Program
Franco, C., Mañas, I. M., Cangas, A. J., Moreno, E., & Gallego, J. (2010) · The Spanish Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1017/s1138741600002328 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
Special Education Teacher Burnout and ACT.
Emery, D., & Vandenberg, B. (2010) · International Journal of Special Education (IJSE) · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Introduction: Understanding and treating burnout in a changing culture
Farber, B. A. (2000) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(200005)56:5 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Stark, C. R. (2010) · Public Health · doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2010.02.016 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life
Katie, B., & Mitchell, S. (2002) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 72 · see citing works
An Exploration of the Burnout Situation on Teachers in Two Schools in Macau
Luk, A. L., Chan, B. P. S., Cheong, S. W., & Ko, S. K. K. (2009) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-009-9533-7 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Burnout in Teachers: The Concept and its Unique Core Meaning
Friedman, I. A. (1993) · Educational and Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/0013164493053004016 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Brackenreed, D. (2011) · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Burnout in mental health nurses: much ado about nothing?
Carson, J. F., Maal, S., Roche, S., Fagin, L., Villiers, N. D., O'Malley, P., Brown, D., Leary, J., & Holloway, F. A. (1999) · Stress Medicine · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-1700(199904)15:2 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Burnout and Vigor as Predictors of the Incidence of Hyperlipidemia among Healthy Employees
Shirom, A., Toker, S., Melamed, S., Berliner, S. A., & Shapira, I. (2012) · Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/j.1758-0854.2012.01071.x · Cited by 42 · see citing works
A Prospective Pilot Clinical Trial of “The Work” Meditation Technique for Survivors of Breast Cancer
Lev-ari, S., Zilcha-Mano, S., Rivo, L., Geva, R., & Ron, I. (2013) · European Journal of Integrative Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2013.07.003 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Effects of “The Work” Meditation on Psychopathologic Symptoms: A Pilot Study
Leufke, R., Zilcha-Mano, S., Feld, A., & Lev-ari, S. (2013) · Alternative and Complementary Therapies · doi:10.1089/act.2013.19303 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Landau, C., Lev‐Ari, S., Cohen‐Mansfield, J., Tillinger, E., Geva, R., Tarrasch, R., Mitnik, I., & Friedman, E. (2014) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.3703 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Die AFA-Atemtherapie als Burnout-Prophylaxe bei Lehrerinnen und Lehrern
Loew, T. H., tz, K. G. O., Hornung, R., & Tritt, K. (2009) · Forschende Komplementärmedizin / Research in Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1159/000212845 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 47 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Zadok-Gurman, T., Jakobovich, R., Dvash, E., Zafrani, K., Rolnik, B., Ganz, A. B., & Lev-Ari, S. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18073689 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
Self-citationInterventions to Teacher Well-Being and Burnout A Scoping Review
Avola, P., Soini, T., Jyrkiäinen, A., & Pentikäinen, V. (2025) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-025-09986-2 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Interventions fostering well-being of schoolteachers: a review of research
Dreer, B., & Gouasé, N. (2022) · Oxford Review of Education · doi:10.1080/03054985.2021.2002290 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Feldman, O., Goldstien, E., Rolnik, B., Ganz, A. B., & Lev-Ari, S. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm10102187 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“In addition, the meditation technique of the IBSR method helped reduce burnout from the profession in a population of teachers and promoted mental well-being [39,40].”
MethodInquiry-based stress reduction: A systematic review of the empirical literature
Hook, J. N., Kim Penberthy, J., Davis, D. E., & Van Tongeren, D. R. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.23120 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Mindfulness and the Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs
Михайловна, Б. П., & Brown, K. W. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197600047.013.9 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
The Yoga Sutra of librarianship: Towards an understanding of holistic advocacy
Block, C. M., & PROCTOR, C. L. (2019) · Journal of Librarianship and Information Science · doi:10.1177/0961000619841120 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Lemon, N. S. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-83895-9_8 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Teachers’ Perceptions of Silent Sitting as a Buffer to Their Problems
Taplin, M., & Lingli, L. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-16-0200-9_11 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Voices Behind the Labels: Perceptions of Students with Consistent Challenging Behaviors
Munoz, I. (2019) · Digital Commons - ACU (Abilene Christian University)
Pressley, T., Marshall, D. T., Odeniyi, O., & Gonzales, M. A. (2026) · Leadership and Policy in Schools · doi:10.1080/15700763.2026.2683837
A case for Somatic Approaches in Design Education
Hogan, E. (2023) · LearnXDesign Conference · doi:10.21606/drslxd.2023.101
A case for Somatic Approaches in Design Education
Hogan, E. (2023) · LearnXDesign Conference · doi:10.21606/drslxd2024.101
A case for Somatic Approaches in Design Education
Hogan, E., & Creighton, E. (2023) · LearnXDesign Conference · doi:10.21606/drslxd.2024.101
Salsabila, A., Rahmat, A., & Hamdiyati, Y. (2024) · JPBI (Jurnal Pendidikan Biologi Indonesia) · doi:10.22219/jpbi.v10i2.33297 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
PRÁTICAS TERAPÊUTICAS PARA REDUÇÃO DA FREQUÊNCIA DO BURNOUT EM PROFESSORES
Melo, L. A. M. P., Ribeiro, L. G. S., & Bicalho, C. C. F. (2024) · Educação em Foco · doi:10.36704/eef.v27i52.6609
Systematic review on effective positive coping-based interventions in teachers
Torres-Santos, E.-A., Uribe, J. A. T., Flórez, M. M., Rivera-Porras, D., & Sequeda, G. (2023) · Mundo FESC · doi:10.61799/2216-0388.1554
Psychological flexibility-based interventions for teacher well-being: A systematic review
Kämper, E., Lampinen, V. S., Katajavuori, N., Carvalho, T. D. S., & Asikainen, H. (2026) · Teaching and Teacher Education · doi:10.1016/j.tate.2026.105591
Malhazjan, S., & Piko, B. F. (2026) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph23091199
Коновалова, Н. Г., Михайловна, В. Е., Ивановна, Х. О., & Versh, V. A. (2026) · Медицина в Кузбассе · doi:10.24412/2687-0053-2026-3-143-150
- Authors
- Schnaider‐Levi, L., Mitnik, I., Zafrani, K., Goldman, Z., & Lev‐Ari, S.
- Affiliations
- Tel Aviv University (IL)
- Begin High School
- Blich High School
- Corresponding author
- Schnaider‐Levi, Lia
- ORCID
- Lev‐Ari, Shahar
- Venue
- Mind Brain and Education
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-03-29
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 75-84
- ISSN
- 1751-2271 (ISSN-L)
- 1751-228X
- OpenAlex
- W2601915039
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 0.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Mind Brain and Education (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ministry of Earth Sciences
- Ministry of Education, India
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Burnout
- Keywords
- meditation, teacher burnout, occupational stress, emotional overload, professional ideology, self-awareness, coping, boundary setting, acceptance of reality
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
