This study examined degrees of burnout and the impact of three separate classroom conditions: the number of heterogeneous disability categories, caseload size, and the proportion of students with emotional impairments to the total class composition, among seventy-seven full-time special education teachers, with endorsements to teach students with learning disabilities, assigned to self-contained classrooms at the intermediatelmiddle school level in Michigan. This study simultaneously accounted for background and organizational variables reported to influence teacher stress, burnout, and attrition. The Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey (1996), measured degrees of burnout based on Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment. The Student Diversity and Organizational Satisfaction Survey identified participant background variables and satisfaction with organizational factors. Results indicated that neither the number of heterogeneous disability categories nor students per caseload were statistically significant to degrees of burnout. As the proportion of emotionally impaired students increased, the degree of depersonalization was significant. Dissatisfaction with special education university programs, professional development opportunities, and social support networks had statistical relevance to increasing degrees of burnout.
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