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

Abstract

High rates of attrition make it challenging for schools to provide qualified special education teachers for students with disabilities, especially given chronic teacher shortages. We synthesize 30 studies from 2002 to 2017, examining factors associated with special educator attrition and retention, including (a) teacher preparation and qualifications, (b) school characteristics, (c) working conditions, and (d) teacher demographic and nonwork factors. Most studies examined working conditions (e.g., demands, administrative and collegial supports, resources, compensation) among special educators who left teaching, moved to other positions, transferred to general education teaching, or indicated that they intended to stay or leave. The majority of researchers used quantitative methods to analyze national, state, or other survey data, while eight used qualitative methods. Our critique identifies both strengths and weaknesses of this literature, suggests research priorities, and outlines specific implications for policy makers and leaders.

Burnout in Special Needs Teachers at Kindergarten and Primary School: Investigating the Role of Personal Resources and Work Wellbeing

“…A number of studies have found that well‐designed mentoring programs improve retention and also lead to gains in teachers’ attitudes, feelings of efficacy, and instructional skills. There is much evidence that teacher retention rates improve when effective principals are actively involved in teacher induction, providing “professional socialization” in the form of frequent discussion, monitoring, and feedback (Billingsley, ; Krasnoff, ). Furthermore, school principals may reduce the risk of burnout syndrome by adopting a more collaborative leadership style that promotes and supports teachers.…”

Teacher Attrition and Retention in Kansas: A Case Study of Geographically Rural States with Persistent Teacher Shortages

“…Moreover, the results suggest diversifying the teacher workforce to match that of the students whom they teach is particularly important. With regards to turnover behaviors, younger teachers and special education teachers are even more at risk of turning over and we need to do more to support these teachers to keep them in the profession (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019;Kukla-Acevedo, 2009). However, there are some bright spots suggesting there may be some pathways to reduce teacher attrition in Kansas, and possibly nearby states, such as by providing more opportunities and support for teachers to attain graduate degrees, considering the use and political viability of teacher unions, and training administrators to be more supportive and encouraging to teachers (Northup, 2018).…”

Unearthing Motives that Propel Pre-service Teachers Venture into Special Education Career at the University of Zambia

“…Data generated through observations, in depth interviews and reflective journals suggested that the teacher made conscious efforts within limited resources to create strategies to help the student fit in the mainstream classroom. [16] in their study noted that high rates of attrition make it challenging for schools to provide qualified special education teachers for students with disabilities, especially given chronic teacher shortages. In their synthesize special educator attrition and retention, were influenced by (i) teacher preparation and qualifications, (ii) school characteristics, and (iii) working conditions among others.…”

“…Studies on education in Zambia and elsewhere have not as yet established why special schools and units should continue to experience shortage of teachers in special education when the university churns-out graduates in the field every year, thereby questioning the motive of special education students studying Special Education [16,17,18]. Worldwide literature shows negative attitude towards people with disabilities has been cited as the greatest barrier in championing the education of learners with special education needs in the regular school set-up worldwide [19,20,21].…”