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4. BENEFITS FOR TEACHERS AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
The research on the Transcendental Meditation program indicates that
the benefits for the individual are comprehensive. Findings especially relevant
to faculty development include improved health and reduction of stress,
greater inner stability and resistance to stress, and increased self-actualization.
1. Improving health and decreasing teacher burnout. Research on
the Transcendental Meditation program has found long-term reductions on
biochemical and general physiological indicators of stress (77, 81) and
aging (9, 82). In addition, two well-controlled studies finding reductions
in hypertension among the elderly (9, 83) substantiate the findings of 14
earlier studies on hypertension, a major risk factor in heart disease.
Especially promising for reducing health-care costs in schools and elsewhere
are the results of a field study of insurance statistics of 2000 Transcendental
Meditation program participants over a five-year period (47). The Transcendental
Meditation program group showed a 50% reduction in both inpatient and outpatient
medical care utilization, as compared to matched controls, as well as lower
sickness rates in 17 categories of disease, including 87% less hospitalization
for heart disease, 87% less for nervous system disorders, 73% less for nose,
throat and lung disorders, and 55% less for tumors. Recent longitudinal
research in Canada demonstrated an average reduction of 12% per year in
health care costs among those who learned the Transcendental Meditation
technique, in comparison to matched controls and controlling for inflation
(48).
2. Developing inner stability and resistance to stress. Teaching
involves maintaining a single-minded focus on a goal, amidst distractions,
while adapting to changing needs and circumstances of students. The research
on the Transcendental Meditation program indicating increased physiological
stability and field independence is thus highly relevant to effective teaching.
Studies examining galvanic skin response, a measure of physiological excitation,
found that the Transcendental Meditation technique enabled more rapid mobilization
of one's physiological resources, while at the same time facilitating quicker
recovery to baseline levels of functioning (81). Similarly, studies of field
independence, a measure of the ability to maintain internal stability in
a distracting environment, have found significant improvements among those
who learn the Transcendental Meditation technique (15).
3. Increasing teacher creativity, personal satisfaction and self-actualization.
The educational researcher John Goodlad has found that in schools perceived
as effective, the teachers are satisfied with their careers and teaching
circumstances (84). Other research indicates that a major factor contributing
to teacher dissatisfaction is the sense of stagnation which occurs after
the strategies that the teacher has learned in the past begin to become
obstacles to growth and personal progress.
A meta-analysis of research studies comparing the Transcendental Meditation
program with other forms of meditation and relaxation found the Transcendental
Meditation program to be three times as effective in promoting self-actualization
(40). Other research shows longitudinal increases in figural and verbal
creativity (2, 21) and physiological, cognitive and behavioral flexibility
(9, 10, 14, 27); the growth of these qualities supports the ability to avoid
stagnation in the teaching profession, and to continue to develop new and
more effective teaching strategies.
4. Results relating to effective administration and organization.
The Transcendental Meditation technique has been adopted in hundreds
of businesses, sometimes as a formal company program, sometimes as a practice
that is informally encouraged among employees. In both cases it is viewed
by managers as a means of developing the human resources of business, and
also as a means of increasing the efficiency and productivity of the company.
Research studies have also examined certain variables of business success
following the introduction of the Transcendental Meditation program in the
workplace. One study, utilizing both self-report questionnaires and evaluations
of co-worker and supervisors, found significantly improved job satisfaction,
performance, and relations with peers and supervisors, as well as decreased
turnover potential among people practicing the Transcendental Meditation
program as compared to nonmeditating controls (41).
A recent three-month prospective study in two occupational settings comparing
managerial, staff, and line personnel who learned the Transcendental Meditation
program to demographically similar controls in a cluster of manufacturing
plants and a distribution-sales company found that at the end of the treatment
period, Transcendental Meditation program meditators showed significant
decreases, as compared to controls, in trait anxiety, state anxiety, job
worry, and cigarette and alcohol use. They also showed increased job satisfaction,
improved general health, greater efficiency and productivity, and better
work and personal relationships (42).
A large-scale study by the Institute of Industrial Health of the Japanese
Ministry of Labor found that industrial workers at Sumitomo Heavy Industries
showed improved physical and mental health after five months, in comparison
to matched controls (45, 46).
In addition to the increases in employee satisfaction, the cost savings
due to reduced illness and health care utilization by people practicing
the Transcendental Meditation program, as described above, are sufficient
to justify the inclusion of this technology in any administrator or teacher
development program.
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