Special Education Teacher Burnout and Retention

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SPED 641 Fall Session 2008 University of North Carolina at Fayetteville State School of Education Dr. Dickens Special Education Teacher Burnout and Retention Showcase 2 Karen Jacobs October 21, 2008 Introduction The need for special education teachers has been a critical issue for many years. A shortage of qualified special education teachers has existed since the 1980’s. In 1983, the shortage of special educators was highlighted in A Nation at Risk. This article was written 25 years ago and there still continues to be a shortage of special education teachers. Apparently, this problem has not been addressed or the current system of teacher recruitment and retention is not working. Most research supports the fact that fewer teachers are produced each year for special education as opposed to regular education. Special education teachers are leaving the field at a higher rate than general education teachers. Why? Special education teachers can easily become overwhelmed by the outrageous number of responsibilities in their jobs--managing IEP’s ( Individualized Education Plans) completing mountains of paperwork, administering alternative assessments, dealing with the increasing numbers of advocates and attorneys, providing assistive technologies, staying informed about complex legislation. It should be made known that these are just a few of the reasons teachers leave the field. Many special education teachers quickly become frustrated and experience teacher burnout. Review of the Literature Special Education Teacher Burnout During the last several years, numerous studies have been conducted examining Special Education teacher burnout. This phenomenon known as teacher burnout often leads to special education teaches
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