The COVID-19 pandemic increased psychological burdens in Germany, especially among teachers who have reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion and burnout compared to the general population. Even before the pandemic, teachers found their work highly stressful. Mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions, as well as socio-emotional learning interventions, show promise in combating burnout among educators. Despite increased research, partner-based Dyads have not been explored in schools. Recent studies suggest these social practice formats are more effective than solo mindfulness techniques in reducing loneliness, and social stress, and enhancing social connections and resilience. Additionally, the impact of these interventions on student, classroom, collegium, and system levels remains under-researched.
This study extends the CovSocial project and the ReSource project, which showed the effectiveness of partner-based dyadic mental training on stress reduction, resilience, and social cohesion. The first goal is to test a 10-week online empathy-compassion (EmCo) Dyad training program, inspired by the Affect Dyad from the ReSource project and the online coaching Dyad from the CovSocial project, incorporating empathic and compassionate listening.
The second goal is to evaluate the Dyad intervention's effects in an educational context, focusing on teachers' mental health, social capacities, social networks, and classroom climate, measured across: 1) mental health and resilience, 2) social emotions, 3) social interaction, 4) communication and listening skills, and 5) classroom climate. The third aim is to develop and validate the Teacher Autonomic Voice Assessment (TAVA) and the Egocentric Social Network Analysis Paradigm (e-SNAP), using autonomic measures and voice recordings to assess teachers' emotional states. The final aim is to investigate the cognitive and affective mechanisms driving changes in teachers' mental health, resilience, and social-emotional competencies.