Background The Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) is a widely used tool for assessing fidelity in mindfulness-based program (MBP) research and training. It also supports MBP teacher reflective and skill development. MBI:TAC assessors review MBP teaching and rate the teaching on 6 domains. The MBI:TAC yields individual domain and overall scores, using 6 levels of competence. Although the MBI:TAC is widely used in MBP research and training, research is at an early stage. Objective We developed and tested a method of training MBI:TAC assessors to use the tool reliably and examined interrater reliability of the tool. Methods A total of 31 international senior MBP teachers were recruited to join an online training to build their skills in using the MBI:TAC. The training systematically and iteratively built familiarity and skills in assessing the 6 MBI:TAC domains. Qualitative and quantitative data on trainee’s experience of the training were gathered. Interrater reliability in using the tool was tested each week of the training. At the end of the training, interrater reliability was tested by asking trainees to individually assess videos that they had not previously seen. Their ratings were compared to benchmark assessments, which had been established via consensus agreement between 4 expert users of the MBI:TAC. Results The training was well received and appreciated, with some challenges experienced in applying the assessment methodology. Participants’ ratings became progressively more in line with one another and the benchmark ratings during the training. At the end, interrater reliability was high (ranging from 0.67 to 1.0). Conclusion It is possible for senior MBP trainers, coming from different regions in the world, to align toward common understandings of the elements of MBP teaching competence and program integrity. An assessor training methodology was tested, and the learning from this project has led to refinements for future delivery.

The Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) is a useful framework for supporting teacher development in the context of mindfulness-based supervision (MBS). It offers a framework that enhances clarity, develops reflexive practice, gives a structure for feedback, and supports learning. MBS is a key component of Mindfulness-Based Program (MBP) teacher training and ongoing good practice. Integrating the MBI:TAC within the MBS process adds value in a number of ways including: offering a shared language around MBP teaching skills and processes; framing the core pedagogical features of MBP teaching; enabling assessment of developmental stage; and empowering supervisees to be proactive in their own development. The paper lays out principles for integrating the MBI:TAC framework into MBS. The supervisor needs awareness of the ways in which the tool can add value, and the ways it can inadvertently interrupt learning. The tool enables skills clarification, but the learning process needs to remain open to spontaneous experiential discovery; it can enable structured feedback but space is also needed for open reflective feedback; and it can enable conceptual engagement with the teaching process but space is needed for the supervisee to experientially sense the teaching process. The tool needs to be introduced in a carefully staged way to create optimal conditions for learning at the various stages of the MBP teacher-training journey. Practical guidance is presented to consolidate and develop current practice. The principles and processes discussed can be generalized to other forms of reflective dialogue such as mentoring, tutoring and peer reflection groups.

Inclusion of assessment of teaching competence in Mindfulness-Based Program (MBP) teacher training enables international benchmarking of standards, which in turn underpins the integrity of this emerging field and the potential to deliver effective, transformative interventions. However, there is a risk that the inclusion of competence assessment could lead to reductionism and undermining of the pedagogical features that make mindfulness-based teaching distinct. It can also make the costs of training prohibitive. The science underpinning the integrity of competence assessment is not yet robust enough to justify wide scale implementation, but when feasible, including the option for assessment enables trainees to engage in rigorous and effective training processes. When assessment is included, it is critically important that the process is held with awareness and sensitivity, and is implemented by experienced assessors with thoughtful governance. Navigating these issues involves balancing rigour with accessibility and pragmatism. This paper lays out some guidelines for good practice for MBP teaching assessment, and raises unresolved dilemmas and questions.

The field of mindfulness-based research and practice is expanding fast. This development calls for a careful evaluation of the merits and scientific underpinnings of newly developed mindfulness-based programs (MBP’s). In this viewpoint, we describe a process initiated by two professional mindfulness teacher training organisations (the Dutch Vereniging Mindfulness-based Trainers Nederland, VMBN, and the British Association of Mindfulness-based Approaches, BAMBA) to develop a framework for evaluating the integrity of newly developed MBP’s. The framework aims to articulate criteria describing the elements and processes required to ensure that a new MBP meets good practice, adheres to evidenced-based practice, and is attending to the challenge of implementation and scalability. The development and implementation of the criteria are still a ‘work in progress’. We hope that this initiative offers a foundation for supporting the MBP field to balance innovation and grassroot community development with aligning to the principles of evidence-based practice.