Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Hardwick Smith Johnson, Jr.

Committee Member

Theodore Kinasewitz

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

special education teachers, teacher burnout, teacher attrition, teacher persistence

Abstract

Understanding what caused teacher attrition helped stakeholders comprehend what was necessary to enhance retention. This phenomenological study was used to examine the perceptions of special education teachers about teacher burnout, what work-related factors contributed to burnout, and how administrators contributed to teacher burnout. Purposeful sampling was used in this study. Teacher participants were in a large northcentral Georgia school district. A qualitative questionnaire with seven open-ended questions gathered qualitative data from teachers. Participants’ responses were transcribed manually by the researcher and NVivo.

Research Question 1 presented a description of teachers’ experiences regarding the causes of teacher burnout? Research Question 2 presented experiences and motivations of special education teachers who continued to remain in the field and those who left the field? Findings for Research Question 1 suggested teachers experienced burnout because of high caseloads of students ranging from 7 to 12 students. Teachers with the highest number of students (i.e., 10 to 12 students) in a caseload reported stressful feelings about the large caseload. Responders with low or average numbers of students (seven students) in the caseload tended to report slight positive feelings with other classroom concerns which contributed to burnout. These other classroom concerns included many children with different types of disabilities in the classrooms, overwhelmed with administrative paperwork, and quick administrative deadlines for paperwork. Findings for Research Question 2 conveyed reasons for remaining as teachers were the enjoyment of teaching exceptional education children, feeling they made a significant influence in the lives of the children and feeling they contributed to the children living normal and independent lives as much as possible. Reasons for leaving were little appreciation for the teachers by the administrators who possessed minimum or no knowledge of special education regulations and what teachers may and may not do with special needs children.

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