The alchemy of teacher mindfulness: voices from veteran language teachers in China

ABSTRACT

Employing a qualitative case study approach and informed by an ecological perspective, this study explores two veteran language teachers’ mindfulness and how their mindfulness influences their professional practice and continuing development. The findings show five critical dimensions of teacher mindfulness regarding self, teaching and learning, professional development, the situated environment, as well as time and change. Surrounding the mindfulness about self, all the dimensions constantly interact with one another in (re)shaping teaching and teacher development. The study argues for an explicit focus on mindfulness in teacher education to help teachers cultivate their mindful awareness and practice to promote their own wellbeing and student learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher mindfulness
• ecological perspective
• veteran language teachers

Acknowledgment

This article was supported by the Internal Research Grant, the Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. We are grateful for the constructive feedback from the editor and reviewers on the revisions of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.