Mindfulness, Well-Being and Burnout Among Teachers Working With Children With Disabilities in Romania: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

This study aims to examine the indirect role of mindfulness in the relationship between meaningful work and well-being, as well as between meaningful work and burnout, in a sample of 175 teachers working with children with disabilities in Romania. Participants were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling from schools and educational networks, and were aged between 22 and 65 years (M = 42.78, SD = 11.10), with 91.4% identifying as women. Data were collected using validated self-report measures and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with maximum likelihood estimation. The SEM model reveals optimal model fit indicators. The main findings indicate that mindfulness exerts an indirect effect on both relationships, even when controlling for age. The present paper highlights the critical role of mindfulness in the professional experience of teachers working with children with disabilities. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.