Teaching Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: Teachers’ Burnout Profiles and Classroom Management

Abstract

Teachers may have affective responses to teaching students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) that influence their effectiveness. We used latent profile analysis to examine the burnout profiles of 102 K-6 general education and special education teachers who had students with or at-risk for EBD in their classrooms. We then examined if profile membership varied by teacher type (special education vs. general education) and if profile membership was related to teachers’ directly observed classroom management skills. Our results suggest that teachers exhibit three burnout profiles: “flourishing,” “buffered,” and “struggling”; that profile membership did not vary by teacher type; and that burnout profiles were related to teachers’ classroom management skills. These findings suggest teachers may need differential supports when working with students who have EBD and provide directions for future research regarding the association between teacher affect and classroom instruction.

Working Conditions and Burnout of Special Educators of Students With EBD: Longitudinal Outcomes

“…Students with EBD depend on SETs to provide effective instruction to address complex academic and behavioral needs (Campbell et al, 2018). Burned-out SETs are less likely to fulfill this charge effectively (e.g., Gilmour et al, 2021), yet SETs of students with EBD are at higher risk of burnout than other SETs (Nichols & Sosnowsky, 2002). Ameliorating burnout is key to improving the educational experiences and outcomes of students with EBD, and working conditions present a potential lever for preventing or buffering SETs' burnout (Billingsley et al, 2020).…”

“…Furthermore, emotional exhaustion and burnout are associated with lower treatment integrity of interventions and lower use of evidence-based instructional practices and classroom management techniques (Cumming et al, 2020; Gilmour et al, 2021; Oakes et al, 2021). For example, Domitrovich et al (2015) found teachers who were more burned out implemented fewer Good Behavior Games—an evidence-based intervention to support student engagement—and Gilmour et al (2021) revealed higher SET burnout was associated with lower observed classroom management scores. Thus, teacher burnout has consequences for students.…”

Teachers' Burnout Risk During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Relationships With Socio-Contextual Stress—A Latent Profile Analysis

“…Most of the previous research aimed at profiling TB focused only on clustering it with protective factors, such as self-efficacy, well-being, resilience and coping strategies ( 16 , 41 , 42 ), classroom management and social support ( 43 , 44 ). Less attention has been paid to identifying those stressors that are the most challenging for teachers and taking into account their predictive role in TB profiles.…”

Pre-school Teachers’ Burnout: Examining the Relation to the Quality of Student-Teacher Interaction

“…As a result, emotional exhaustion can negatively impact both teachers and students in the classroom. Teachers with the highest levels of stress and burnout also have the most behavioral problems in their classrooms, and teachers with burnout may be contributing to teacher problems controlling their classrooms [11]. Many variables can cause teacher burnout.…”