Although numerous studies have examined the phenomenon of burnout among special educators, the manner in which stress develops over time has not been addressed. Tlais article describes a study in which special educators were followed over the 5-year period following the receipt of their undergraduate degrees in special education. Participants responded to a questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which was administered 3 times in Years 1-2 and 3 times in Years 4-5. Results indicated that teachers (n = 41) who remained in special education experienced slow but steady increases in emotional exhaustion over the course of the 5 years. Some differences concerning trends in emotional exhaustion were observed among subgroups of teachers.
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