Page 166 - Ana Mlekuž in Igor Ž. Žagar, ur. • Raziskovanje v vzgoji in izobraževanju: Izobraževanje učiteljic in učiteljev za raziskovalno učenje in poučevanje. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut, 2024. Digitalna knjižnica, Dissertationes 48

raziskovanje v vzgoji in izobraževanju: izobraževanje učiteljic in učiteljev ...
The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale (WEMWBS; Ten-
nant et al., 2007) was used as a measure of mental well-being. Fourteen
items (1 = “never” to 5 = “always”; originally formulated as 1 = “none of the
time” to 5 = “all of the time”) assessed the frequency of positive aspects
of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reliability and validity
are well documented, including on a Slovenian sample (Cilar et al., 2019).
Cronbach's α in our study ranged from .90 to .96 in our four measurements.
COVID-19 anxiety measured specific situational anxiety during the
pandemic. The scale created for this study is based on the items from the
LAOM (Lestvica Anksioznosti za Otroke in Mladostnike) Anxiety Scale
(Kozina, 2012). The 4 items aimed to capture anxiety specific to the COV-
ID-19 pandemic (e.g., “I am worried about getting infected with COV-
ID-19.”). Participants reported how often the statements were true for them
during the COVID-19 pandemic (1 = “never” to 5 = “always”). Its validity
is supported through correlations with established measures (e.g., general
anxiety, mental well-being; Kozina et al., 2021). Cronbach's α in our study
ranged from .85 to .91 in our four measurements.
The Emotional Self-Efficacy scale (Muris, 2002) is taken from the
self-efficacy questionnaire for children (SEQ-C). The eight items (1 = “not
at all” to 5 = “very well”) evaluate the ability to regulate unpleasant emo-
tions. Its reliability and validity are well-documented in children and ad-
olescents (Tan & Chellappan, 2018), and the scale has also been used with
adults (Vieluf et al., 2020). Cronbach's α in our study ranged from .87 to .96
in our four measurements.
The use of Inner (meditation-based) and Body (yoga-based) exercises
were indicated by providing the most appropriate response about an expe-
rience with, and interest in meditation, or similar inner exercises, and yoga
or similar body exercises. The five possible answers were: 1 - “I meditate or
practice similar inner exercises on a regular basis.”; 2 - “I have done medi-
tation or similar inner exercises before and I like it, but I don’t practice on
a regular basis.”; 3 - “I have done meditation or similar inner exercises be-
fore, but it is not the right thing for me.” 4 - “I have never done meditation
or similar inner exercises before, but I would like to try.” 5 - “I have never
done meditation or similar inner exercises before and I am not interested
in trying it out.” As both inner and body exercises correspond to practicing
mindfulness, the answers were used as indicators of the variable Practicing
Mindfulness. The answers were recoded to 1 [practicing mindfulness, which

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