Abstract Background The mental health of teachers is closely linked to their teaching efficacy, particularly in high-pressure academic environments where college English instructors frequently experience anxiety, which adversely affects both teaching effectiveness and mental well-being. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), an effective psychological intervention, has been shown to alleviate stress, reduce anxiety, and enhance mental health. This study investigates the impact of MBSR training on college English teachers' teaching efficacy and anxiety levels, exploring its potential as a mental health intervention tool. Methods The study employed a quasi-experimental design, selecting 60 English teachers from three universities as research subjects. All participants, aged 25 to 45 with 3 to 15 years of teaching experience, exhibited varying levels of teaching anxiety. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group, each consisting of 30 individuals. The experimental group received eight weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction training, with weekly 90-minute sessions covering mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises, body awareness, present moment awareness techniques, and self-regulation methods. Before and after the intervention, all participants completed the Teaching Effectiveness Scale (TES) and State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to assess their teaching efficacy and anxiety levels. The TES measured teachers 'confidence in their teaching abilities, covering dimensions such as self-efficacy, student interaction, and classroom management. The STAI evaluated teachers' anxiety, including two subscales: state anxiety and trait anxiety. In data processing, paired t-tests were first conducted on pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaire data to compare differences in teaching efficacy and anxiety between groups. To control for confounding variables, ANCOVA was used to further analyze changes before and after the intervention, excluding the influence of other potential factors. Results The experimental group demonstrated significantly enhanced teaching efficacy, with TES scores showing a steady upward trend compared to pre-intervention levels and statistically significant differences from the control group (p.01). Teachers in the experimental group exhibited varying degrees of improvement across multiple dimensions including classroom management, self-efficacy, and instructional strategy application. In contrast, control group teachers maintained stable TES scores throughout the eight-week period without significant changes, indicating that the improvement in teaching efficacy primarily stemmed from mindfulness intervention effects. Regarding anxiety levels, the experimental group also showed remarkable emotional improvements. Their STAI scores decreased by an average of 18% compared to pre-intervention levels, with both state and trait anxiety showing downward trends. This suggests that mindfulness training not only alleviates short-term tension but also positively impacts long-term anxiety patterns. The reduction in anxiety levels was statistically significant, while control group teachers' anxiety levels remained largely unchanged during the same period, with STAI scores decreasing by less than 5% and failing to reach statistical significance (p.05). Discussion The study demonstrates that mindfulness-based stress reduction training effectively enhances teaching efficacy and significantly reduces anxiety among college English instructors. These findings support integrating mindfulness training into mental health interventions and professional development programs to help educators manage work-related stress and improve instructional outcomes. Future research should investigate the long-term effects of mindfulness interventions and examine performance differences across disciplines.
Xichun Han (Sun,) studied this question.