CEC | Special Education Teacher Veterans: What Makes Them Stay?

Special Education Teacher Veterans: What Makes Them Stay?

By Marlene White

Since the 1975 passage of PL 94-142, the precursor to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, we have scrambled to fill classrooms with qualified special education teachers. We have mainly focused our attention on early career teachers and what we can do to keep them in the profession. As a result, we have a wonderful literature base of burnout and attrition research along with guidelines for retention efforts such as mentoring programs. What we really haven’t done, though, is investigate what motivates special educators to stay in the classroom, to stay professionally healthy and happy for years and years. We have largely overlooked the knowledgeable voice and viewpoint of the veteran special education teacher.

To remedy that lack of voice, more than 400 veteran special education teachers in Kentucky responded to a survey by Eastern Kentucky University about what keeps them happy and healthy, what supports they need, what strategies they use to navigate personal and professional barriers, and how teacher training programs can better prepare future teachers and school-level administrators as well as create more inviting environments to enhance retention. In this study, the “average” veteran teacher (defined as having seven or more years of special education teaching experience) was female, 47.8 years old, and had 18 years of special education teaching experience, with only two years of general education teaching experience. The average respondent taught an average of eight different disability categories in three different settings (resource, self-contained, etc.), in an average of four different schools and two different school districts. These veterans reported they were satisfied with being a special education teacher, and 90 percent reported they were returning to the special education classroom next year. Better yet, they also planned to teach an average of eight more years before retiring.

Knowing that factors inherent in school and professional climate (lack of administrative support, role conflict, difficulty working with colleagues) are often associated with burnout and attrition, these veterans were asked to rank the influence of several items on their decision to stay in a particular school and also in special education. They reported that working with students, seeing student progress, and feeling a sense of personal accomplishment were the three most influential reasons to keep coming back to a particular school and to stay in special education. These were followed by positive school climate, administrative support, collegial support, and collegial friendships. At the bottom of the list were salary and benefits.

When teachers’ satisfaction level was factored into how influential these items were, the results showed that administrative support, collegial friendships, and working with students made a significant difference in whether they would consider staying in a particular school and in special education. Student progress, positive school climate, and salary and benefits were significant only when deciding to stay in a particular school, while collegial support and feelings of accomplishment were associated only with staying in special education. In other words, if students were making progress, the school was a positive place in which to work, and the salary and benefits were good, teachers could overlook other factors and stay in that school. If they got along well with their colleagues and felt they were accomplishing something with the students, they may change schools but would still consider staying in special education.

These findings also indicate that when special education teachers start to feel less satisfied, the administrator, other colleagues, and the experience of working with the students can all equally influence their decision to stay in or leave a school and/or the profession. Administrators need to continue to respect this very powerful yet delicate relationship between themselves and their special education teachers—whether they are first-year teachers or 20-year veterans—because when special educators feel they do not have administrative support, they are more likely to leave teaching or, at the very least, that school.

The Importance of Self-Preservation

Possibly the most important information these veterans can offer to new teachers, struggling teachers, administrators, teacher training programs, and even family and friends of teachers is what they do for “self preservation”—what personal, social, and professional activities they engage in to help them relieve stress and remain enthusiastic and motivated. Here are their top 10 responses in rank order.

Personal activities they do just for themselves: Reading (over 50 percent of respondents), exercising, spending time with family, traveling or taking vacations, gardening, shopping, sewing/knitting/crocheting, spending time with pets and animals, going to church and church activities, and playing sports. They all indicated that having personal time was imperative to staying focused and healthy.

Social activities they engage in: going to church and church activities (almost 50 percent), spending time with friends, spending time with family, playing sports and attending sporting events, eating out with friends, going to club events, going to the movies, volunteering in their community or school, traveling or taking vacations, and shopping. All respondents listed at least three different activities in which they engaged and often elaborated about how important it was to separate yourself from work regularly. An underlying theme: don’t take work home. Go to work, then leave it all at school for the next day.

Professional activities to keep them engaged and informed: going to training and professional development activities, attending professional conferences, becoming a member of professional organizations, reading professional journals and books, serving as a member of school committees, mentoring other teachers, attending staff meetings, collaborating with other professionals, taking classes, and coaching sports or academic teams, etc., at school. All respondents indicated that continuing education was the most crucial element in staying “the brightest crayon.” Whether it was remaining acclimated to their own school by being on school committees or attending or presenting at conferences, veteran teachers all agreed that life-long learning was expected.

Results from this study show that veteran teachers, while still experiencing the same type of stressors as everyone else, have fortified themselves with strategies and techniques that help keep them healthy and happy in their personal and social life. They also know how to navigate personal and professional barriers to get the support they need. They acknowledge the amount of work that must go into the profession but also respect the balance between work and play to keep a positive perspective. Much can be learned from our most valuable resource, the veteran teacher. They have beaten the odds and remained effective and enthusiastic educators and should be called upon to be educational leaders in their schools and districts.

Marlene White is an associate professor of special education at Eastern Kentucky University. She is a member of Kentucky CEC.

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