Why Stay? A Phenomenological Look at Special Education Teacher Retention (original) (raw)
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Working in Special Education: Factors that Enhance Special Educators' Intent to Stay
Exceptional Children, 2001
T he noted documentarian John Merrow (1999) recently examined national attempts to fill the shortage of qualified teachers, including major recruitment and incentive efforts by various states. He concluded that enhanced teacher recruitment is not the answer: "We're misdiagnosing the problem as 'recruitment' when it's really 'retention.' Simply put, we train teachers poorly and then treat them badly-and so they leave in droves" (p. 64). Merrow's documentary and related arti-cle help once again to highlight a critical issue in special education: the need to retain qualified personnel. A national survey of over 1,000 special educators recently conducted by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) concluded: "Poor teacher working conditions contribute to the high rate of special educators leaving the field, teacher burnout, and substandard quality of education for students with special needs"
Investigating Attrition Among Special Educators in Relation to Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory
2019
Investigating Attrition Among Special Educators in Relation to Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory by Meta Jane Turner MAT, Walden University, 2011 BGS, University of Connecticut, 2008 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University April 2019 Abstract Special education teacher attrition has been an ongoing problem for at least 3 decades. This study specifically focused on the attrition of special education teachers in South Carolina. Attrition can have a negative impact on student learning, making it important to identify the causes of attrition among special education teachers to lower attrition in the state and lessen the negative impact on student learning outcomes. The purpose of thisSpecial education teacher attrition has been an ongoing problem for at least 3 decades. This study specifically focused on the attrition of special education teachers in South Carolina. Attrition can have a negative impact o...
Attrition of Special Educators: Why They Leave and Where They Go. Working Paper
1995
Telephone interviews concerning special education teacher attrition were conducted with 96 former special education teachers in Florida. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to analyze the interview data. Participants had not returned to their special education teaching positions after the 1992-93 school year. The majority of these leavers indicated that they had taken positions that were education-related. Disgruntled teachers (n=49) made up the largest category of leavers. Nondisgruntled teachers (N=36) made up the second largest category *
1995
This paper reports on a study investigating the issues that most significantly influence urban special education teachers' decisions to leave the field voluntarily or transfer to a different type of educational position. First, it presents the results of post-attrition interviews with 17 special educators who left their positions during or immediately following the 1991-92 school vear and then reports results of a survey of 868 special educators in three urban areas. The first section of the report describes the sample; explains tho interview design, guide, and process; and reviews data analysis procedures. The second section focuses on three recurrent themes drawn from the interviews: job design, the nature of relations with the central office, and the professional and/or personal fit of their special education teaching assignment. The report then describes the development of the questionnaire used in the survey and procedures employed for descriptive analysis, including factor analysis of all teachers who completed the survey, analysis of those who expressed an intent to leave in the near future, and analysis of differences in profiles of work-related leavers and those who stayed. Data are reported by factors relating to support, preparation, stress related to job design and workload manageability, affective issues related to students, satisfaction and personal assessment of rewards, and role conflict. Appendices provide additional analytical detail. (DB)
Burnout: Special Education Teachers Experiences with Career Demands
2017
The purpose of this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study is to understand how special education (SPED) teachers make sense of their experiences as SPED teachers, how they view and understand factors that contribute to their career stress, as well as how they make sense of their relationships and experiences with other faculty, staff, and parents as well as how these relationships contribute to their feelings of stress and self-efficacy. Specifically, this study examines the influence of these experiences on teacher stress and burnout using the lens of the multidimensional burnout theory (Masloch, 1972) and the tenants of Bandura’s (2001) selfefficacy theory to understand the intricate relationship between the personal, behavioral, and environmental influences. The following questions were used to guide this research: How do special education teachers describe their experience of being a special education teacher? And How do various factors – structures, practices, ex...
Beginning Special Education Teachers: At Risk for Attrition
1992
Recognizing the importance of early experience to job satisfaction and commitment, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of support from administration on the induction and retention of 457 beginning public school, special education teachers. Secondary analysis techniques were applied to information derived from the 1987-88 cross sectional database Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), with concentration on results of the Perceptions and Attitudes toward Teaching section. Findings suggest that the presence of administrative support is significant to beginning special education teachers in scheduling conferences and Individualized Education Plan meetings, providing information, and giving authorization to act; in allowing novices' participation in educational decision making and staff meetings; in providing appropriate resources; and in recognizing progress made. The findings in this study confirm previous research that aspects of the teaching climate can help to ameliorate conditions that may lead to attrition of new teachers. This conclusion may strongly influence educational policy making. It supports the call for the provision of mentoring and other beginning teacher induction programs. (Contains 21 references.) (LL)
An Analysis of Pre-Service Versus Experienced Special-Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Attrition
2014
In this quantitative study, I assessed the presence of factors related to attrition in pre-service special educators. I surveyed 23 pre-service special educators regarding various attrition factors identified in the research literature and then compared their responses to the perceptions of 32 seasoned special educators to test for statistical significance. Participants were located at a large, public university in the southeast United States and the largest public-school system in proximity to the university. The results of the study indicated that attrition factors may be evidenced in preservice educators and therefore detectable prior to entering the teaching field. The study also found that pre-service educators frequently had low expectations for what they would face. For instance, compared to the reality reported by the experienced educators, the pre-service educators expected to do more work and have fewer resources available to them. However, they also expected there to be more collaboration and support, and they expected areas such as paperwork to be more meaningful than the experienced educators reported was the case. The results help to direct future research by noting areas in which the expectations of the pre-service educators differed from those of the experienced educators, such as the expectation of building relationships.
Ameliorating the Special Education Teacher Crisis: Systems Thinking and Innovative Approaches
Journal of Special Education Preparation
Chronic and pervasive special education teacher (SET) shortages have interfered with state, district, and school efforts to recruit and retain effective teachers for students with disabilities. Unfortunately, these shortages have worsened post-pandemic due to early retirements, low unemployment rates, and career changes. The purpose of this article is to provide a systems thinking (ST) framework to help stakeholders consider the complex and interacting systems in which these shortages occur (i.e., teacher preparation, district and schools, society). We consider specific elements within these systems, their interconnections, with a focus on identifying steps and ideas stakeholders can use to understand contributors to the shortage crisis, while providing strategies and innovative ideas for greater sustainability. We also offer real examples of ST solutions used within teacher education programs, schools, and other professions. To further bolster ST, we conclude with examples of innov...