LISREL ANALYSES WERE USED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF WORK-RELATED VARIABLES ON TWO GROUPS OF SPECIAL EDUCATORS' INTENT TO STAY IN TEACHING. THE FINAL SAMPLE INCLUDED 658 SPECIAL EDUCATORS (159 TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL DISORDERS AND 499 SPECIAL EDUCATORS FROM OTHER SPECIAL EDUCATION AREAS). RESULTS INDICATED THAT FOR BOTH GROUPS OF TEACHERS, THE MOST IMPORTANT DETERMINANT OF INTENT TO STAY IN TEACHING WAS WORKPLACE CONDITIONS. FOR BOTH GROUPS, JOB SATISFACTION HAD THE STRONGEST DIRECT POSITIVE EFFECT ON INTENT TO STAY AND ROLE-RELATED PROBLEMS HAD NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON INTENT TO STAY. PRINCIPAL SUPPORT INFLUENCED INTENT INDIRECTLY THROUGH ROLE-RELATED PROBLEMS AND JOB SATISFACTION. FURTHER, STRESS HAD AN ADVERSE INDIRECT EFFECT ON INTENT TO STAY THROUGH JOB SATISFACTION AND PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENT.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alutto, J. A., Hrebiniak, L. G., & Alonso, R. C. (1973). On operationalizing the concept of commitment. Social Forces, 51, 448--454.
2.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council for Administrators of Special Education, Council for Exceptional Children, Council for Graduate Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Higher Education Consortium for Special Education, National Association of State Directors of Special Education, and Teacher Education Division. (1989). A free appropriate education: But who will provide it? Unpublished report for the House Subcommittee on Select Education, Reston, VA.
3.
Becker, H. (1964). Personal change in adult life. Sociometry, 27, 40--53.
4.
Bensky, J. M., Shaw, S. F., Gouse, A. S., Bates, H., Dixon, B., & Beane, W. E. (1980). Public Law 94-142 and stress: A problem for educators. Exceptional Children, 47, 24--29.
5.
Billingsley, B. S. (1993). Teacher retention and attrition in special and general education: A critical review of the literature. The Journal of Special Education, 27, 137--174.
6.
Billingsley, B., Bodkins, D., & Hendricks, M. B. (1993). Why special educators leave teaching: Implications for administrators. CASE in Point, 7(2), 23--39.
7.
Billingsley, B. S., & Cross, L. H. (1991). Teachers' decisions to transfer from special to general education. The Journal of Special Education, 24, 496--511.
8.
Billingsley, B. S., & Cross, L. (1992). Predictors of commitment, job satisfaction, and intent to stay in teaching: A comparison of general and special educators. The Journal of Special Education, 25, 453--471.
9.
Boe, E., Cook, L, Bobbitt, S., & Weber, A. (1995, May). Retention, transfer, and attrition of special and general education teachers in national perspective. Paper presented at the National Dissemination Forum on Issues Relating to Special Education Teacher, Satisfaction, Retention and Attrition, Washington, DC.
10.
Brownell, M. T., & Smith, S. (1992). Attrition/retention of special education teachers: Critique of current research and recommendations for retention efforts. Teacher Education and Special Education, 15, 229--248.
11.
Brownell, M. T., Smith, S. W., & Miller, M. D. (1994). [Teacher attrition rates in Florida: A 3-year study]. Unpublished raw data.
12.
Chapman, D. W., & Hutcheson, S. M. (1982). Attrition from teaching careers: A discriminant analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 19, 93--105.
13.
Crane, S. J., & Iwanicki, E. F. (1986). Perceived role conflict, role ambiguity, and burnout among special education teachers. Remedial and Special Education, 7, 24--31.
14.
Cross, L., & Billingsley, B. (1994). Special educators' intent to stay in teaching: A test of a model. Exceptional Children, 60, 411--421.
15.
Culver, S. M., Wolfle, L. M., & Cross, L. (1990). Testing a model of teacher satisfaction for blacks and whites. American Educational Research Journal, 19, 93--105.
16.
Dangel, H. L., Bunch, A. W., & Coopman, A. (1987). Attrition among teachers of learning disabled students. Learning Disabilities Focus, 2, 80--86.
17.
Dansereau, F. (1972). The invisible organization. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois, Chicago.
18.
Dworkin, A. G. (1985). When teachers give up: Teacher burnout, teacher turnover, and their impact on children.Austin: University of Texas, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 273 575)
19.
Fimian, M. J. (1986). Social support and occupational stress in special education. Exceptional Children, 52, 436--442.
20.
Fimian, M. J., & Blanton, L. P. (1986). Variables related to stress and burnout in special education teacher trainees and first-year teachers. Teacher Education and Special Education, 9, 9--21.
21.
Fimian, M. J., Pierson, D., & McHardy, R. (1986). Occupational stress reported by teachers of learning disabled and nonlearning disabled handicapped students. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 19, 154--158.
22.
George, N. L., George, M. P., Gersten, R., & Grosenick, J. R. (1995). To leave or to stay? An exploratory study of teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Remedial and Special Education, 16, 227--236.
23.
Gersten, R., Gillman, J., Morvant, M., & Billingsley B. (1995). Teachers' perceptions of working conditions: Section 2: Administrative support. Paper presented at the National Dissemination Forum on Issues Relating to Special Education Teacher, Satisfaction, Retention, and Attrition, Washington, DC.
24.
Grady, R. (1989). Determinants of career commitment and turnover behavior. Journal of Vocational Education Research, 14, 1--21.
25.
Grissmer, D. W., & Kirby, S. N. (1987). Teacher attrition: The uphill climb to staff the nation's schools.Santa Monica, CA: The RAND Corp.
26.
Heyns, B. (1988). Educational defectors: A first look at teacher attrition in the NLS-72. Educational Researcher, 17, 24--32.
27.
Lauritzen, P. (1986). Comprehensive assessment of service needs for special education.Madison: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
28.
Lawrenson, G. M., & McKinnon, A. J. (1982). A survey of classroom teachers of the emotionally disturbed: Attrition and burnout factors. Behavioral Disorders, 8, 41--49.
29.
Littrell, P., Billingsley, B., & Cross, L. (1994). The effects of support on general and special educators' stress, job satisfaction, health, commitment, and intent to stay in teaching. Remedial and Special Education, 15, 297--310.
30.
Magliaro, S., & Wildman, T. (1990). Meeting the needs of beginning special educators. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston.
31.
Mark, J. H., & Anderson, B. D. (1985). Teacher survival rates in St. Louis, 1969--1982. American Educational Research Journal, 22, 413--421.
32.
McKnab, P. (1983). Special education personnel attrition in Kansas, 1976 to 1982: A summary of attrition rates and an analysis of reasons for quitting.Washington, DC: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Division of Personnel Preparation. (ERIC Reproduction Document Service No. 238 231)
33.
McManus, M. E., & Kauffman, J. M. (1991). Working conditions of teachers of students with behavioral disorders: A national survey. Behavioral Disorders, 16, 247--259.
34.
Metzke, L. K. (1988). A study of the causes of teacher attrition in regular and special education in Wisconsin (Doctoral dissertation, Marquette University, 1988). Dissertation Abstracts International, 42, 42A.
35.
Morris, J., & Koch, J. (1979). Impacts of role perceptions on organizational commitment, job involvement, and psychosomatic illness among three vocational groupings. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 88--101.
36.
Morris, J., & Sherman, J. D. (1981). Generalization of an organizational commitment model. Academy of Management Journal, 24, 512--526.
37.
Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. M., & Steers, R. M. (1982). Employee-organization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover.New York: Academic Press.
38.
Olson, J., & Matuskey, P. V. (1982). Causes of burnout in SLD teachers. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 15, 97--99.
39.
Parasuraman, S. (1982). Predicting turnover intentions and turnover behavior: A multivariate analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 21, 111--121.
40.
Pedhazur, E. J. (1982). Multiple regression in behavioral research.New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
41.
Platt, J. M., & Olson, J. (1990). Why teachers are leaving special education. Teacher Education and Special Education, 13, 192--196.
42.
Porter, L. W., Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Boulian, P. V. (1974). Organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover among psychiatric technicians. Journal of Applied Psychology, 9, 603--609.
43.
Reichers, A. E. (1985). A review and reconceptualization of organizational commitment. Academy of Management Review, 10, 465--476.
44.
Rizzo, J., House, R., & Lirtzman, S. (1970). Role conflict and role ambiguity in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 15, 150--163.
45.
Rosenholtz, S. J. (1989). Workplace conditions that affect teacher quality and commitment: Implications for teacher induction programs. The Elementary School Journal, 89, 421--439.
46.
Seery, B. M. (1990). Generalized and specific sources of job satisfaction related to attrition and retention of teachers of behavior-disordered and severely emotionally disturbed students in Georgia. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Georgia State University, Atlanta.
47.
Singer, J. (1993). Are special educators' career paths special?Exceptional Children, 59, 262--279.
48.
Smith-Davis, G., & Billingsley, B. (1993). The supply/demand puzzle. Teacher Education and Special Education, 16, 202--217.
49.
Smith-Davis, G., Burke, P. J., & Noel, M. (1984). Personnel to educate the handicapped in America: Supply and demand from a programmatic viewpoint.College Park: University of Maryland, Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children and Youth.
50.
Sutton, G. W., & Huberty, T.J. (1984). An evaluation of teacher stress and job satisfaction. Education, 105, 189--192.
51.
Theobald, N. D. (1989). Whether in knowledge or in ignorance: An econometric model of K--12 public school teacher retention. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 307 688)
52.
Weiner, Y., & Gechman, A. S. (1977). Commitment: A behavioral approach to job involvement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 10, 47--52.
53.
Zabel, R. H., & Zabel, M. K. (1982). Factors in burnout among teachers of exceptional children. Exceptional Children, 49, 261--263.
