“Some People Aren’t Cut Out for It”: The Role of Personality Factors in the Careers of Teachers of Students With EBD

Abstract

This qualitative study explores reasons that experienced teachers of students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders give for remaining in their field. Previous research, usually conducted among the wider population of special education teachers, has focused on the relationship of employment and demographic factors to attrition and has primarily relied on quantitative surveys. The researcher sought to expand that body of work through the use of in-depth interviews with teachers who have continued teaching students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders for more than 6 years. In discussing career decisions, these teachers consistently pointed to the importance of personal characteristics, such as the fit between their personality and the demands of the job. These findings point to the importance of recruiting appropriate candidates for this field and helping pre-and in-service teachers develop the personal skills necessary to cope with the unique demands of the job.

Special Education Teacher Attrition and Retention: A Review of the Literature

“…Others compared teachers intending to stay versus leave (e.g., Cancio et al, 2013) or provided descriptive rates of leaving for early career teachers (e.g., DeAngelis & Pressley, 2011). Finally, some used qualitative methods to investigate teachers' explanations for why they stayed (e.g., Gehrke & McCoy, 2007;Prather-Jones, 2011b) or left/moved (Gehrke & McCoy, 2007).…”

“…Six studies focused on early career teachers Connelly & Graham, 2009;Gehrke & McCoy, 2007;Hagaman & Casey, 2018;Jones et al, 2013;Jones & Youngs, 2012) and four studied experienced special educators (Lesh et al, 2017;López-Estrada & Koyama, 2010;Prather-Jones, 2011a, 2011b. Four focused on teachers serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD; Albrecht et al, 2009;Cancio et al, 2013;Prather-Jones, 2011a, 2011b and another disaggregated special education teacher data (Gilmour & Wehby, in press). One study focused on speech/language pathologists (Edgar & Rosa-Lugo, 2007), two addressed secondary teachers (Clotfelter et al, 2008;Conley & You, 2017), and one focused on Mexican American teachers (López-Estrada & Koyama, 2010).…”

“…Only a third of the studies (n = 10) referenced a specific theoretical or conceptual framework. Three used Billingsley's (1993) model of special education teacher attrition (Lesh et al, 2017;Prather-Jones, 2011a, 2011b, two relied on conservation of resources theory Gilmour & Wehby, in press), and other frameworks were used once, including affective events theory (Jones & Youngs, 2012), ecological systems theory (Lesh et al, 2017; combining two conceptual frameworks), House's theory of social support (Cancio et al, 2013), human capital theory (Connelly & Graham, 2009), and sense-making theory (Jones et al, 2013).…”

Facilitating High-Quality Relationships for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in Crisis

“…High-quality relationships between teachers and students are critical factors in students performing well in school (Sabol & Pianta, 2012) and teachers being successful in their roles as educators (Prather-Jones, 2011; Van Loan & Garwood, 2018). Of all students who benefit from a high-quality relationship, students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have the most to gain from meaningful relationships with their teachers given the nature of their disability (Van Loan & Garwood, 2018).…”

Effects of Performance Feedback on Treatment Integrity of a Class-Wide Level System for Secondary Students With Emotional Disturbance

“…Compared with other students receiving special education services, students identified with emotional disturbance (ED) demonstrate significantly more social and behavioral problems at an early age (Poulou, 2015; Wang & Fredricks, 2014), often leading to difficulties extending into adulthood (Copeland, Wolke, Shanahan, & Costello, 2015). Adding to the problem, teachers who work with students with ED often need extra support to develop and use the complex set of skills required to effectively manage students’ various behavioral difficulties (Prather-Jones, 2011).…”