Why Teachers Are Leaving Special Education

Abstract

This investigation identified the reasons that teachers leave the special education classroom and examined the patterns and trends in teacher dropout in order to help in the retention of quality special educators. A survey instrument was developed and used to determine the factors that teachers identified as to why they left the special education classroom. Survey items were tabulated, and adjusted frequency scores were reported. A contingency analysis determined whether there were associations among any of the factors and the demographic characteristics. The most significant factor for leaving the special education classroom was the excessive amount of paperwork. Other important factors included pupil load, inadequate resources, and lack of recognition and support. There was also a relationship between certain demographic characteristics and burnout among special educators.

Teacher Retention and Attrition-in Special and General Education

“…Support received from parents has been associated with teacher attrition/ retention. Piatt and Olson (1990) reported that 53% of special educators surveyed indicated that "lack of support" from parents was a reason for attrition. George et al (1992) found that 23% of those BD teachers who intended to stay indicated receiving adequate support from parents, compared to a mere 3% of those who intended to leave.…”

“…Administrators influence the conditions in which teachers work; therefore, it is not surprising that administrative support has been consistently linked to attrition and retention. Lack of administrative support has been associated with attrition among both general (Bloland & Selby, 1980;National Center for Education Statistics, 1991) and special educators (Billingsley 8c Cross, 1991b;Lawrenson 8c McKinnon, 1982;Metzke, 1988;Piatt 8c Olson, 1990). Metzke (1988) found that administrative support was correlated positively with teachers remaining in teaching.…”

“…Excessive paperwork was cited as the primary reason for special education teacher attrition in three studies (Billingsley 8c Cross, 1991b;Dangel et al, 1987;Piatt 8c Olson, 1990) and is also a major deterrent to reentry (Billingsley 8c Cross, 1991b). George et al (1992) found that only 3% of BD teachers who intended to leave found sufficient time to complete paperwork, versus 53% of those who intended to stay.…”

“…Table 1 demonstrates that researchers have used several major approaches to examine factors related to special education teacher attrition and retention. Most of the available research involves survey methodology to provide information about the reasons special educators left teaching (Billingsley 8c Cross, Billingsley, Bodkins, 8c Hendricks, in press;Dangel, Bunch, & Coopman, 1987;Lawrenson 8c McKinnon, 1982;McKnab, 1983;Piatt 8c Olson, 1990;Seery, 1990) or factors associated with retention/attrition (Metzke, 1988;Seery, 1990). Singer (1993, in press) used state longitudinal data bases to describe the career paths of special educators and the characteristics of teachers who stay, leave, and return over extended periods of time.…”

“…The lack of participation in decision making among special educators has been linked to attrition (Billingsley 8c Cross, 1991b;Piatt & Olson, 1990).…”