A teacher's ability to foster and sustain high quality learning environments for their students relies largely on their own coping abilities and mental health. However, due to the emotionally taxing nature of their profession, teachers are at increased risk for developing elevated levels of occupational stress and burnout. To help teachers cope with their occupational stress and other negative emotions related to their occupation, mindfulness-based stress reduction programs for teachers have been introduced through schools. Evidence for the effectiveness of such programs is promising, however few studies have considered underlying mechanisms that may be driving these effects. Using data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial, this thesis examines the impact of mindfulness training on three coping resources, namely, somatic body awareness, executive function, and emotion regulation. Additionally, this thesis examines whether development of these resources translate into improvements in teachers' occupational well-being--specifically indicated through reductions in their anxiety, depression, stress, and burnout. Results suggest that the mindfulness training significantly improves teachers' somatic body awareness, with evidence for improvements in teachers' emotion regulation reappraisal as well. Additionally, some mediation results were promising, however, no significant mediations were found for any of the coping resources on any of the well-being outcomes for teachers. By addressing these topics, the results of this thesis contribute to the current field's understanding of how mindfulness training works to improve well-being in teachers.

Teaching is a stressful, uncertain, and emotionally laden profession (Chaplain, 2008; Farber, 1999; Johnson et al., 2005). One approach to reduce psychological distress and improve well-being in teachers is through the use of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs. While MBSR programs have been shown in several studies to be effective with regard to improving well-being in teachers, little research has been done to date examining the relationship between program dose and outcomes. This study examines the relationship between both generic and program-specific dose and outcomes of stress and burnout. Results showed some evidence that generic yoga frequency is related to outcomes. No significant relationships between program-specific dose and outcomes were found. Directions for future research are discussed.