What is this project?

We will implement and evaluate an intervention called Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) to increase teacher wellbeing and foster warm, collegial relations among middle school staff.

Is it a research project? Who funds the work?

Yes, it is a collaboration between Oregon Research Institute and the University of Oregon, funded by the National Institute of Child and Health Development (NICHD).

What is the Acceptance and Commitment Training? (ACT)

ACT uses acceptance and mindfulness approaches with commitment and behavior change strategies to increase psychological flexibility and help people act in the service of their values. This approach helps people develop a new and “lighter” way of dealing with stressful thoughts and feelings, while simultaneously helping them to rededicate themselves to their values. In other studies, ACT has led to a reduction in depression, anxiety and burnout. It has reduced distress, fostered adoption of evidence based practices, and increased cooperation, support, and collegiality among staff in preschools.

What are you evaluating?

We are studying whether ACT training in school environments is an effective method to reduce stress and increase staff wellbeing. We will evaluate this intervention in 48 middle schools over four years.

How does a school qualify to participate in this program?

Eligibility

o The school includes grades 6-8

o The school administration has interest in adopting the intervention

o The school has

· A minimum of 10 school staff

· A positive behavior support system of behavior management in place

When does this project begin? How long is the project?

If your school agrees to participate, you would be in the second cohort. Half of the schools in the second cohort will receive the intervention summer/fall 2010, and half will receive the intervention two years later (wait-list). Whether schools receive the workshops immediately or two years later is decided randomly, by the flip of a coin.

How much staff time will it take?

If the random selection process determines that you are in the ACT immediate workshop group, we work with you to develop a summer/fall 2010 training schedule. A total of 9 hours of training is typical. Those hours can be flexibly distributed over the late summer and fall to meet your school’s needs. Consultation and support will also be provided.

What is the timeline (specific time points) of the project?

All schools participate in yearly survey and observational assessments over the four-year project period.

Who participates in the evaluation?

Staff and administrators will complete an annual spring survey each of the four years of the project. Our project staff will collect school archival data in the summer. We will also conduct observations in a sample of classrooms each spring.

Students

We will collect information on students via archival records, and classroom observations. Information from student records will include attendance, suspensions, expulsions, office discipline referrals, and in-school behavior. A set of brief student-teacher observations will take place in a sample of classrooms each spring during Years 1-4.

School Staff and Administrators

School staff is assessed via a survey and classroom observations. The survey will ask about staff wellbeing, including stress, depression, life and job satisfaction, and psychological flexibility. The survey will also ask about staff experience of students’ behavior, discipline practices, school climate, and parents’ contacts with staff regarding student performance, attendance (if relevant).

How long does it take to complete the surveys?

The staff surveys will be brief, they will take about 35-40 minutes to complete.

Who will get the information you collect?

Oregon Research Institute, the University of Oregon, and NICHD require a very careful system to protect confidentiality. Only a limited number of project staff members will have access to the data we collect. We will report all data in aggregate form, without identifying information or individual case reports. We will send all participating schools a report at the end of the project, with a summary of the results for all schools. Our goal is not to talk about specific schools but to talk about schools in general.