Combating the Attrition of Teachers of Students With EBD

Abstract

Students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) can present intensive needs, requiring the intervention and instruction of well-trained and qualified teachers who work with them in the classroom. However, schools face serious shortages in the field of special education, particularly for staff who work with this population of children (McLeskey, Tyler, & Flippin, 2003; Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education, 2000; Texas Center for Educational Research, 2006). According to the U.S. Department of Education (2012), the current high-need fields in schools that serve low-income students include special education, with many states reporting shortages in the field of teachers working with students with EBD. School personnel not only must focus their efforts on the recruitment of special educators but must work to keep the individuals who are credentialed and performing well in the field.When factors can be identified that are associated with intent to stay in or leave the field, it is important to consider strengthening those positive factors and working to mini-mize or eliminate the negative factors. Support from principals of teachers has been cited as one of the most important factors for both general and special educators’ retention (Correa & Wagner, 2011; Darling-Hammond, 2003). In 2007, the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) conducted a survey of school personnel working with students with EBD to determine the key fac-tors that result in their staying or exiting the field. The study revealed significant factors that determine whether teachers were likely to stay, although it should be noted that the sam-ple size was small and reflected only members of CCBD (Albrecht, Johns, Mounsteven, & Olorunda, 2009). Both positive (retention) and negative (resignation) factors Downloaded from isc.sagepub.com