Research suggests that special education teachers report higher stress as a result of the demanding nature of their roles, complex student needs, administrative challenges, and the pressure to meet individual education goals (Adigun et al., 2021). Such demands can lead to increased exhaustion and lower job satisfaction (Hester et al., 2020) than general education teachers. This can result in lower levels of teacher wellbeing (Holzner & Gaunt, 2023) and higher attrition (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019) for teachers who work with students with disabilities. However, when supported and valued by school leadership, special education teachers “felt valued, emotionally supported, provided with resources, and benefit from positive collegial relationships” (Holzner & Gaunt, 2023, p. 106), emphasizing the need for a supportive community in this challenging field.
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References
References
Adigun, O.T., Tijani, F.A., Nzima, D.R., & Vivekanantharasa, R. (2021). Perceived stress of special education teachers in the context of the person-environment relationship. The Open Psychology Journal,14. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874350102114010300
Billingsley, B., & Bettini, E. (2019). Special education teacher attrition and retention: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 89(5), 697–744. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319862495
Hester, O. R., Bridges, S. A., & Rollins, L. H. (2020). Overworked and underappreciated: Special education teachers describe stress and attrition. Teacher Development, 24(3), 348-365. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2020.1767189
Holzner, K.-L., & Gaunt, L. (2023). Wellbeing promotion in Tasmanian schools: Have we forgotten to support teachers? Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education, 47(2), 96-109. https://doi.org/10.1017/jsi.2023.10
