A Phenomenological Study of the Resiliency of Special Education Teachers

Abstract

Nationally, there is a special education teacher shortage creating a lack of qualified special education teachers and threatening the quality of education special education students receive. To understand what compels qualified special education teachers to stay in the profession, this study analyzed the lived experience of those who have stayed for 10 or more years in a single district. Prior research has largely followed a deficit model that explained cause and effect relationships between why teachers leave the field and the factors that led them to that decision. This study sought to understand what compels them to stay. The following research questions guided this study: (a) What is the nature or essence of the experience of teaching special education for many years? (b) How do special education teachers describe what compels them to stay in the special education classroom? (c) How do long-tenured special education teachers understand and perceive the nature of their resiliency? The three guiding questions were explored through in-depth semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and researcher observations and field notes. Nineteen participants, all special education teachers in the Twin Rivers Unified School District, participated in this study. Twelve teachers were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed to gain thick, rich, descriptive insights into their lived experiences of teaching special education for many years. Along with the 12 interviews, a focus group with seven participants was conducted. Five thematic findings emerged from In Vivo Coding: (a) personal characteristics beyond demographics influence teacher resiliency, (b) an ethic of care toward special education students supports resiliency, (c) positive and supportive relationships with professional peers support resiliency, (d) negative challenges build resilience and influence a teacher's desire to stay committed to the profession and the district, and (e) tenure influences a teacher's decision to stay. Given the findings of this study, the following four recommendations are offered to K-12 administration as they seek to build support and acquire resources for their special education teachers: (a) develop and maintain a special education mentorship program, (b) provide professional development in special education, (c) personally support and maintain a relationship with your special education teachers, and (d) develop a rewards program to acknowledge special education teacher accomplishments. Key terms: special education, teacher retention, teacher attrition, teacher resiliency, administrative support, teacher mentors, special education professional development%%%%Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management – Drexel University, 2015