Relationship between mindulness-trait and teachers’ resistance to change

Abstract

According to the HEP Vaud's professional competency framework, a teacher must be able to adapt to the many changes that may occur during his or her professional career. These changes concern, on one hand, the evolution and change of educational systems and, on the other hand, the smaller-scale modifications that must be made during a teaching. The notion of resistance to change plays an important role in the implementation of a transformation, as it influences an individual's affective, behavioral and cognitive response and may ultimately jeopardize the success of changes. Researches suggests that an individual's readiness to change is influenced by their propensity for mindfulness. Indeed, a mindful person shows a more flexible and open attitude to change and perceives the advantages and disadvantages differently. In addition, mindfulness increases readiness to change because mindful individuals are more likely to show better emotional regulation. In education, mindfulness-based intervention programs show positive effects on teachers' mental health and their emotional regulation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to verify the existence of a relationship between minfulness-trait and teachers' resistance to change. 238 Education students responded to two measurement instruments: the french versions of Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and of the Resistance to Change Scale. Results indicate that relationships exist between some factors of the two variables. In particular, the mindfulness-trait seems to be related to the analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of a change, as well as the emotional regulation. These findings are discussed in light of the theory of mindfulness and theory of resistance to change, as well as previous studies.