Key influences on special education teachers’ intentions to leave

Abstract

The subject of special education teachers' intentions to leave has been a longstanding concern of researchers and practitioners. This paper reports on a study that examined the workplace predictors of teachers' intentions to leave for a nationally representative USA sample of 2060 secondary school special education teachers (with students aged approximately 13-18). Structural equation modeling was used to assess the plausibility of a conceptual model, specifying linkages among special education teachers' perceptions of workplace factors, job satisfaction and commitment, and teachers' intentions to leave. Using the 2007-2008 Schools and Staffing Survey data set, two models were tested to assess job satisfaction and commitment as mediators. Administrative support and teacher team efficacy had strong, significant direct and indirect effects on special education teachers' intentions to leave. Teacher job design/autonomy, poor socio-economic/human conditions, and student disengagement also exerted significant indirect effects through satisfaction and commitment. However, administrative support and team efficacy were the most important for these teachers in their effects. Among several demographic variables, teacher age was the most powerful demographic factor, with more experienced teachers having lower intentions to leave. The authors suggest that several conditions and attitudes embedded in the teachers' responses are influenced by administrators.

Leaving the Teaching Profession: Examining the Role of Social Support, Engagement and Emotional Intelligence in Teachers’ Intentions to Quit

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“…When districts consistently fail to hire teachers that value inclusion and provide insufficient training to teachers, inclusion can be more time-consuming, susceptible to teacher and parent resistance, and prone to underserving students regardless of placement. As frustration levels rise with added pressures, both special education and general education teachers may experience feelings of burnout and reform fatigue that can lead to teacher turnover (Brunsting, Sreckovic, & Lane, 2014; Conley & You, 2017; Rouse & Florian, 1996).…”

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