Stress management in schools

PROGRAMME SUMMARY
Stress with its specific combination of cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioral response has positive and negative side. A result of a stressful experience can be a loss of health, but we can also feel more powerful, resilient and compassionate. Comprehensive (holistic) stress management strategies are important protective factor for successful and satisfying work of teachers and other professions. Among the most widely recognized practices in stress management is mindfulness. It helps us to replenish our internal resources and increase our psychosocial hardiness and resilience. When faced with stressful situations in a school, mindfulness helps us to be aware of and connected with whatever is happening inside and around us. On the other side, our diverse competencies will give us a strength to initiate change when appropriate.

OBJECTIVES
Stress management course will provide participants the opportunity to gain insight into their individual patterns of stress response. It will build on their internal and external resources for successful stress management. Participants will learn about the upside of stress as a source of progress, mastery and growth and will gain knowledge and skills for successful stress management. The focus will be given to mindfulness practice. They will be able to use new stress management knowledge and skills in their work with students and primarily in their personal and professional life.

METHODOLOGY
The course is designed as a highly interactive process with emphasis on establishing a mentor relationship with participants. It follows a two-way communication process including discussions, working in groups and pairs, presentations, case studies, thinking techniques and individual activities. Strong focus is on experiential learning and deep self-reflection. The participants will also receive a workbook with session’s summaries and descriptions of activities used. We will recommend them interesting literature for further study.

PROGRAMME DAY-BY-DAY
DAY 1
Introductory meeting, explanation of practical arrangements, presentation of timetable, information about course venue.

- Icebreakers, introduction to the course
- Understanding dynamics and characteristics of stress
- Role of thoughts, feelings, body and behavior in stress response
- Exploring internal world in stressful conditions – understanding “my patterns”

Cultural evening.

DAY 2
- Holistic stress management approach
- Mindfulness: building self-awareness and frustration tolerance in stressful conditions
- How to stay calm in classroom: noticing, accepting and letting go of negative thoughts
- Practicing breathing and self-awareness techniques in classroom

DAY 3
- Relaxing the tensions: implementing relaxation techniques in classroom
- Sustained attention in classroom: use of mindful walking, drawing and listening
- Half-day excursion to one of Slovenian highlights

DAY 4
- Building sustainable stress management capabilities for students in classroom (Helping to gain insights into »my patterns«, calming the body, clearing the mind, maintaining emotional balance, building and nurturing kind connections)
- Supporting students when dealing with stressful (exams, public speaking) and traumatic experience (accidents, losses, violence ...)

DAY 5
- Self-reflection as a protective factor of self-care
- Maintaining newly learned skills in stress management
- Key learning points, personal action plan, action plan for classroom
- Concluding remarks, feedback to the trainer using creativity technique.

DAY 6
- Planning follow up activities, dissemination and implementation of learning outcomes.
- Discussing possibilities for future cooperation among participants.

* Some changes in the programme are possible. The participants will receive the Informational Booklet a few weeks prior to the start of the course.