Special Education Teacher Attrition Research Articles

School and Intrapersonal Predictors and Stability of Rural Special Education Teacher Burnout

Special education teacher attrition is a significant and chronic problem that has worsened since the pandemic. A longitudinal survey of burnout was conducted with rural special education teachers ( N = 48) over four timepoints through the school year just prior to COVID-19. Both school and intrapersonal predictors of burnout obtained at the beginning of the school year were used to predict burnout at the end of the school year. Findings revealed that burnout is highly stable over the course of the school year. Furthermore, the strongest predictors of burnout at the end of the school year were baseline scores of burnout. Only one school factor—excessive work demands—and several teacher intrapersonal variables—coping, social support, and mindfulness skills—predicted at least one indicator of burnout. In a regression analysis, the baseline scores of each of the different domains of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment) accounted for the most variance in burnout reported at the end of the school year, except for passive avoidance. Passive avoidance accounted for unique variance with depersonalization. These findings suggest that burnout is stable and help identify teacher intrapersonal or school factors that might be useful targets for prevention or intervention research related to burnout.

Accentuate the Positive: Special Education Teacher Job Satisfaction and Joy

Special education teacher attrition combined with declining college teacher preparation program enrollments has resulted in a teacher shortage of crisis proportion in America. Additionally, teachers are often underfunded, overstressed, and burdened with societal and political pressures that have been brewing since before the pandemic. In spite of this, teachers continue to value the work they do in their classrooms, and many even find joy in the work that they are doing. This paper examined both teacher job satisfaction by analyzing self-reported, Likert scale data, as well as teacher joy collected through open-ended questioning. Results indicated that teachers reported highest levels of teacher job satisfaction related to coworkers. Teacher joy, however, was reported almost exclusively as a product of working closely with students. These findings have the potential to impact teacher retention and recruitment in positive ways.

Special Education Teacher Attrition

Rising attrition rates and shortage of highly qualified special education teachers (SETs) have a negative impact on students with disabilities (SWD) as effective SETs are needed to help learners experience success in school settings [1]. Researchers and other stakeholders must learn more about the common experiences of SETs to better understand what these educators need to experience more job satisfaction and subsequently remain in the field to assist SWD [2]. Conversely, school leaders and other stakeholders need to have a better understanding of the professional experiences related to SET satisfaction in their workplace to comprehend the severity of this issue [3]. Gaining a better understanding of the lived experiences of SETs can help others in the work environment to affect change to support SETs and maximize the potential for SETs to remain in the field and continue to develop and enhance their abilities to help SWD [4]. This qualitative phenomenological descriptive case study draws on a purposive sample of five SETs currently serving SWD [5]. The study’s participants were asked to share their experiences and insights into the challenges of their job in public school settings. An analysis of the data resulted in the emergence of three significant constituents: (1) collaborative experiences; (2) isolation and exclusion, and (3) marginalization. The subsequent discussion offers points related to the identified themes and provides readers with suggestions to help support SETs in varied settings and potential areas of further research.

Special Education Teacher Attrition and Retention: A Review of the Literature

High rates of attrition make it challenging for schools to provide qualified special education teachers for students with disabilities, especially given chronic teacher shortages. We synthesize 30 studies from 2002 to 2017, examining factors associated with special educator attrition and retention, including (a) teacher preparation and qualifications, (b) school characteristics, (c) working conditions, and (d) teacher demographic and nonwork factors. Most studies examined working conditions (e.g., demands, administrative and collegial supports, resources, compensation) among special educators who left teaching, moved to other positions, transferred to general education teaching, or indicated that they intended to stay or leave. The majority of researchers used quantitative methods to analyze national, state, or other survey data, while eight used qualitative methods. Our critique identifies both strengths and weaknesses of this literature, suggests research priorities, and outlines specific implications for policy makers and leaders.

Listen-Identify-Brainstorm-Reality-Test-Encourage (LIBRE) Problem-Solving Model: Addressing Special Education Teacher Attrition through a Cognitive-Behavioral Approach to Teacher Induction

Special education teacher attrition rates continue to challenge the profession. A cognitive-behavioral problem-solving approach was used to examine three alternative certification program special education teachers’ professional development through a series of 41 interviews conducted over a 2-year period. Beginning when they were novice special educators, we collected information concerning what they identified as problems and whether their demonstrated self-awareness about problem solving might influence their professional persistence. As would be expected, analyses suggest, these teachers demonstrated more deliberate, active, and self-directed problem solving at the end of data collection than at the beginning. This self-awareness may facilitate teacher sense of control and problem-solving efficacy and thus may increase the likelihood that novice special educators will remain in the field.

Promoting Special Educator Teacher Retention

This article is a critical review of the literature on special education teacher attrition and retention. The research focused on journal articles from 2004 to present. The results of the study helped define special educator attrition and retention. The major themes present in the findings were job satisfaction, administrative support, induction programs, and mentoring. The literature shows a clear need for comprehensive administrative support to improve job satisfaction and the likelihood a special educator will remain in their job.

Job Design

Special education teacher attrition has numerous negative impacts for students and schools. Administrators play an essential role in supporting special educators, but they seldom receive adequate preparation to provide this support effectively. The authors synthesize job characteristics theory, an area of research conducted by organizational psychologists. This theory is used to provide practical suggestions for administrators interested in supporting and retaining special educators.

Responsibilities of Today's Principal: Implications for Principal Preparation Programs and Principal Certification Policies

Historically, principals served as disciplinarians and the teachers' boss. Under current federal legislation, principals now must accept the responsibility to manage personnel, funds, and strategic planning. Today's principals also must accept responsibilities associated with being their schools' instructional leaders. As instructional leaders, principals maintain the responsibility for the learning of all students, including students with disabilities. This role becomes magnified in rural school systems that typically experience high rates of special education teacher attrition and educate a large percentage of students with disabilities. For these reasons, today's principal preparation programs need to reconsider and reconstruct philosophies and practices. In this article, the author discusses principals'contemporary responsibilities and provides suggestions for principal preparation programs to better prepare principals for today's roles and responsibilities of being the instructional leaders for students with disabilities.

Special education teacher retention and attrition: the impact of increased legal requirements

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the reasons current or former tenured special education teachers in a Local Education Agency remain or leave their special education teaching positions through the theoretical perspectives of organizational learning and organizational culture. The paper aims to describe the influence of increased legal requirements on current or former tenured special education teacher attrition or retention by reporting their reasons for staying or leaving.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative multiple case study of two units of analysis was conducted through a constructionist epistemology. Data were collected from 40 current and former tenured special education teachers through focus groups, semi‐structured interviews, the Left Hand and Right‐Hand Column Case Method, and review of appropriate documents. The data collected were analyzed using text analysis software, content analysis, and pattern matching.FindingsFour salient findings from the paper are: current tenured special education teachers want to be listened to and have their needs considered; current tenured special education teachers feel overwhelmed by the workload related to state assessments; current and former tenured special education teachers believe that legally‐required changes affected them in practice; and current and former tenured special education teachers perceive that time requirements for administrative tasks reduce time for student services.Practical implicationsImplications for praxis include organizational learning and organizational culture that encourage listening to the experience of tenured special education teachers and including them in decisions that affect them in an effort to retain them.Originality/valueThe paper assesses the impact of increased legal requirements on special education teacher retention and attrition.

Special Education Teacher Attrition: It All Depends on Where You Are Standing

Special education teacher attrition has been a major concern for over fifteen years. There have been numerous studies and proposals to explain this problem and suggestions offered for interventions. In general, the studies have reported that approximately 50% of newly certified special education teachers leave the field during the first five years of their career. This study presents data from seven cohorts of special education teachers (n = 161) who were trained in one program. The study documented their employment histories since graduating from the program and the reasons they changed jobs. The teachers were not leaving the field in large numbers; however, they were very mobile.

Special Education Teacher Retention and Attrition

The lack of qualified special education teachers threatens the quality of education that students with disabilities receive. Attrition plays a part in the teacher shortage problem, and efforts to improve retention must be informed by an understanding of the factors that contribute to attrition. Specifically, the author provides a thematic analysis of studies investigating factors that contribute to special education teacher attrition and retention. She addresses four major themes: teacher characteristics and personal factors, teacher qualifications, work environments, and teachers' affective reactions to work. Following this thematic review, a critique of definitional, conceptual, and methodological approaches used to study special education attrition is provided, as are priorities for future research.

Working in Special Education: Factors that Enhance Special Educators' Intent to Stay

This article presents findings from a study of factors that lead to special education teacher attrition and retention involving 887 special educators in three large urban school districts. We focus on a path analysis of the relationship between intent to stay in the field and factors such as job satisfaction, commitment to special education teaching, and various aspects of job design. Findings suggest several critical factors to consider in order to increase retention and commitment. A leading negative factor was stress due to job design. Perceived support by principals or other teachers in the school helped alleviate this stress. Another key factor was the sense that special educators were learning on the job, either formally or informally, through collegial networks.

Caseload in Special Education: An Integration of Research Findings

Despite escalating special education costs and increasing student needs, policies governing special education caseload remain inconsistent, and implementation is even more variable. This article considers links between (a) instructional group size and student engagement, (b) caseload and academic achievement, and (c) caseload and special education teacher attrition. Findings suggest that (a) larger caseloads and instructional group sizes negatively impact student math and reading achievement; (b) severity of students' needs sway teacher perceptions of efficacy; (c) group or whole class instruction dominates all class sizes, but individualization occurs more frequently in smaller groups; (d) student attending behaviors and academic engagement increase when group sizes decrease; and (e) high teacher attrition and high caseloads appear correlated. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Career Decisions in Special Education: Current and Former Teachers' Personal Views

Surveys have been the primary vehicle for identifying variables associated with special education teacher attrition. Survey research, however, does not reveal the contextual variables influencing decisions to stay in or leave the classroom. We explored variables related to teacher attrition by qualitative interviews with 14 current and 10 former special education teachers. Analysis of the interview data revealed differences in teacher characteristics and workplace conditions. Stayers were more committed to teaching students with disabilities, had a higher sense of efficacy, felt more prepared by their preservice and initial teaching experiences, and exhibited more effective coping strategies. Stayers and leaven were frustrated differentially by various aspects of the workplace, such as decision-making power, administrative support, and professional growth opportunities. We discuss these findings in light of future research.

Understanding Special Education Teacher Attrition: A Conceptual Model and Implications for Teacher Educators

Teacher attrition is one of the foremost problems facing special education in the next decade. Little information exists, however, that describes the variables that affect teacher attrition and their interrelationships. Thus, we present a conceptual model for studying teacher attrition and retention. The conceptual model incorporates historical, environmental, and external factors believed to influence teachers' decisions to continue teaching or to leave the classroom. Factors delineated in the conceptual model and their interrelationships are discussed in light of the supporting literature. Finally, we use the conceptual framework and accompanying literature to suggest implications for future teacher preparation research.

Attrition/Retention of Special Education Teachers: Critique of Current Research and Recommendations for Retention Efforts

Teacher attrition will be the foremost issue confronting professionals in special education during the next decade. Several studies indicate that special educators are at greater risk to leave teaching than general educators. Combined with existing teacher shortages, special education teacher attrition raises serious questions about public education's ability to provide high-quality services to students wiab disabilities. Although researchers have identified some variables associated with the attrition of special education teachers, the findings are not comprehensive and are mostly inconsistent. Research-based models for improving the retention of special education teachers do not exist. A comprehensive research effort aimed at identifying the variables that influence the attrition of special education teachers is needed. Guidelines for such a research agenda are recommended.

A Study of Certain Personnel Preparation Factors in Special Education

This article addresses certain personnel preparation factors in special education emanating from a 1984 national study on the Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) provisions of PL 94-142. Some findings of the study were: (1) There continues to be shortages of qualified personnel in most categories of special education, particularly at the secondary level; (2) special education teacher attrition continues to be a problem in most of the states; and (3) the majority of the states continue to issue emergency or provisional special education teacher certificates to unqualified personnel as an approach to meeting demand.