Effects of an attention management training on teachers' attention, work engagement and performance

Abstract

Objectives: With increasing workloads and rapid changes in the environment, attentional demands on teachers have been increasing. To support teachers in managing their attention and being successfully engaged at work, evidence-based interventions are needed. It is speculated that attention training can be an intervention to improve teachers' attentional control, teacher engagement, and work performance. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a three-week attention training program for improving teacher's attentional control, teacher engagement, and work performance. Hypotheses: It was hypothesized that: 1) participants in the intervention group would experience a greater improvement in the level of trait attentional control and trait teacher engagement after an attention training compared to the control group; 2) participants in the intervention group would experience a greater improvement in the level of daily/state attentional control and daily/state teacher engagement throughout an attention training compared to the control group; and 3) improvement in daily/state attentional control would be followed by an increment in the level of daily/state teacher engagement and perceived performance. Method: A two-arm between-subject experience sampling quasi-experiment was conducted. Fifteen-day experience sampling on teaching days and pre-post survey were conducted via online surveys and instant messaging app. Participants included teachers, teaching assistants, and principals from local primary and secondary schools. Thirty-four participants in the intervention group underwent three sessions of attention training, while 29 participants were assigned to a waitlist control group. Pre-post data were analysed with correlation analysis and mixed factorial ANOVA, while experience sampling data were analysed with linear mixed model analysis. Results: Participants in the intervention group showed a significant increase in the level of trait cognitive engagement in pre-post analysis, compared to the waitlist control group. No significant differences were noted in the level of trait/state attentional control and perceived performance between the two groups. Conclusion: The findings suggested that attention training in this study effectively improved the level of trait cognitive engagement in teachers. The effectiveness of the training in improving attentional control and work performance was inconclusive. Implications: Attention training applied in this study may be a potential intervention for improving cognitive engagement among teachers. Further studies are needed to validate the efficacy of the intervention and investigate the mechanism of the intervention effects.