Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

There is a lack of qualified special education teachers (SETs) in U.S. public schools. The literature has provided mixed results related to a variety of supports for SETs, including administrator, colleague, professional development, mentorship, and resources and their impact on retention. In addition, few studies have focused on SETs who work specifically with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), and developmental disability (DD). This study uses survey methodology with 859 SETs to determine if differences in intent to stay are seen for novice versus experienced SETs and which factors influence SETs’ intention to stay or leave. We specifically focus on teachers working with students with ASD, ID, and DD and compare them to other SETs from the sample. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Keywords

teacher attrition job satisfaction special education teachers autism spectrum disorder intellectual disability

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Albrecht

S. F.

Johns

B. H.

Mountstevens

Olorunda

(2009). Working conditions as risk or resiliency factors for teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Psychology in the Schools, 46, 1006–1022. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20440

Algozzine

Wang

Violette

A. S.

(2011). Reexamining the relationship between academic achievement and social behavior. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 13, 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098300709359084

Bettini

Cumming

M. M.

O’Brien

K. M.

Brunsting

N. C.

Ragunathan

Sutton

Chopra

(2020). Predicting special educators’ intent to continue teaching students with emotional or behavioral disorders in self-contained settings. Exceptional Children, 86(2), 209–228. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402919873556

Bettini

Gilmour

A. F.

Williams

T. O.

Billingsley

(2020). Predicting special and general educators’ intent to continue teaching using conservation of resources theory. Exceptional Children, 86(3), 310–329. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402919870464

Bettini

E. A.

Cumming

M. M.

Merrill

K. L.

Brunsting

N. C.

Liaupsin

C. J.

(2017). Working conditions in self-contained settings for students with emotional disturbance. Journal of Special Education, 51(2), 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466916674195

Billingsley

Bettini

(2019). Special education teacher attrition and retention: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 89(5), 697–744. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319862495

Billingsley

B. S.

(2004). Special education teacher retention and attrition: A critical analysis of the research literature. Journal of Special Education, 38, 39–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224669040380010401

Billingsley

B. S.

McLeskey

Crockett

J. B.

(2017). Principal leadership: Moving toward inclusive and high-achieving schools for students with disabilities (Document No. IC-8). University of Florida, Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform Center. http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/tools/innovation-configurations/

Bolourian

Stavropoulos

K. K.

Blacher

(2019). Autism in the classroom: Educational issues across the lifespan. Grantee Submission.

10.

Cancio

E. J.

Albrecht

S. F.

Johns

B. H.

(2013). Defining administrative support and its relationship to the attrition of teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Education and Treatment of Children, 36(4), 71–94. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.2013.0035

11.

Carver-Thomas

Darling-Hammond

(2017). Teacher turnover: Why it matters and what we can do about it. Learning Policy Institute.

12.

Cavendish

Morris

C. T.

Chapman

L. A.

Ocasio-Stoutenburg

Kibler

(2020). Teacher perceptions of implementation practices to support secondary students in special education. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 64(1), 19–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2019.1628000

13.

Collins

L. W.

Sweigart

C. A.

Landrun

T. J.

Cook

B. G.

(2017). Navigating common challenges and pitfalls in the first years of special education: Solutions for success. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 49(4), 312–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059916685057

14.

Connelly

Graham

(2009). Student teaching and teacher attrition in special education. Teacher Education and Special Education, 32(3), 257–269. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406409339472

15.

Gehrke

R. S.

McCoy

(2007). Considering the context: Differences between the environments of beginning special educators who stay and those who leave. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 26(3), 32–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/875687050702600305

16.

Gersten

Keating

Yovanoff

Harniss

M. K.

(2001). Working in special education: Factors that enhance special educators’ intent to stay. Exceptional Children, 67(4), 549–567. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290106700408

17.

Greenway

McCollow

Hudson

R. F.

Peck

Davis

C. A.

(2013). Autonomy and accountability: Teacher perspectives on evidence-based practice and decision-making for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 48(4), 456–468.

18.

Grossman

Thompson

(2004). District policy and beginning teachers: A lens on teacher learning. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 26, 281–301. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737026004281

19.

Hagaman

J. L.

Casey

K. J.

(2018). Teacher attrition in special education: Perspectives from the field. Teacher Education and Special Education, 41, 277–291. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406417725797

20.

Harper

Gilmour

A. F.

Galea

(2022). Trends in the potential supply of new special educators. Exceptionality, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2022.2134867

21.

Hendricks

(2011). Special education teachers serving students with autism: A descriptive study of the characteristics and self-reported knowledge and practices employed. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 35(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.3233/JVR-2011-0552

22.

Hester

O. R.

Bridges

S. A.

Rollins

L. H.

(2020). ‘Overworked and underappreciated’: Special education teachers describe stress and attrition. Teacher Development, 24(3), 348–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2020.1767189

23.

Hughes

Combes

B. H.

Metha

S. S.

(2012). Managing autism: Knowledge and training in autism spectrum disorders among special education administrators in Texas. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 25(2), 90–98.

24.

Iannelli

Giglietto

Rossi

Zurovac

(2020). Facebook digital traces for survey research: Assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of a Facebook ad-based procedure for recruiting online survey respondents in niche and difficult-to-reach populations. Social Science Computer Review, 38(4), 462–476. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439318816638

25.

Ingersoll

Merrill

Stuckey

Collins

Harrison

(2021). The demographic transformation of the teaching force in the United States. Education Sciences, 11(5), 234. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11050234

26.

Ingersoll

R. M.

Strong

(2011). The impact of induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers. A critical review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 201–233. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311403323

27.

Jones

N. D.

Youngs

Frank

K. A.

(2013). The role of school-based colleagues in shaping the commitment of novice special and general education teachers. Exceptional Children, 79(3), 365–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440291307900303

28.

Knight

V. F.

Huber

H. B.

Kuntz

E. M.

Carter

E. W.

Juarez

A. P.

(2019). Instructional practices, priorities, and preparedness for educating students with autism and intellectual disability. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 34(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357618755694

29.

Kretlow

A. G.

Bartholomew

C. C.

(2010). Using coaching to improve the fidelity of evidence-based practices: A review of studies. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 33(4), 279–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406410371643

30.

Layden

S. J.

Gansle

K. A.

Scott

L. A.

Dayton

Noell

G. H.

(2022). Career intent factors of special education teachers serving students with intellectual disability, developmental delay, and autism spectrum disorder. Inclusion, 10(4), 270–284. https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-10.4.270

31.

Layden

S. J.

Lorio-Barsten

Scott

L. A.

Hayden

K. E.

(2022). Perceptions of 10 special education administrators on professional development for educators working with students with ASD. Exceptionality, 31(2), 102–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2022.2100390

32.

Layden

S. J.

Maydosz

A. S.

Crowson

T. G.

Horn

A. L.

Working

A. F.

(2022). Administrators’ roles in the use and training of evidence-based practices for students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 35(1), 33–49.

33.

Lesh

J. J.

(2020). Top 10 tips for new special educators. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 52(4), 206–208. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059920906120

34.

López-Estrada

Koyama

(2010). Retaining Mexican American special education teachers in Texas. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 9, 82–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/538192709357032

35.

Miller

K. J.

(2015). Don’t know much about hearing loss: Supervising teachers of students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 28(1), 14–24.

36.

Morningstar

M. E.

Kurth

J. A.

Johnson

P. E.

(2017). Examining national trends in educational placements for students with significant disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 38(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932516678327

37.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Table 204.40: Children 3 to 21 years old served under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B, by race/ethnicity and age group: 2000-01 through 2019-20 . https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d20/tables/dt20_204.40.asp

38.

Nguyen

T. D.

Bettini

Redding

Gilmour

A. F.

(2022). Comparing turnover intentions and actual turnover in the public sector workforce: Evidence from public school teachers (EdWorkingPaper, 22-537). Annenberg Institute at Brown University. https://doi.org/10.26300/3aq0-pv52

39.

Office of Special Education Programs. (2020). OSEP fast facts: Children identified with autism. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/osep-fast-facts-children-with-autism-20/

40.

Oliver

R. M.

Wehby

J. H.

Nelson

J. R.

(2015). Helping teachers maintain classroom management practices using a self-monitoring checklist. Teaching and Teacher Education, 51, 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.06.007

41.

Park

E. Y.

Shin

(2020). A meta-analysis of special education teachers’ burnout. Sage Open, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020918297

42.

Prather-Jones

(2011). “Some people aren’t cut out for it”: The role personality factors in the careers of teachers of students with EBD. Remedial and Special Education, 32(3), 179–191. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0741932510362195

43.

Revilla

Ochoa

(2018). Alternative methods for selecting web survey samples. International Journal of Market Research, 60(4), 352–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470785318765537

44.

Rispoli

Zaini

Mason

Brodhead

Burke

M. D.

Gregori

(2017). A systematic review of teacher self-monitoring on implementation of behavioral practices. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 58–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.007

45.

Ruble

L. A.

Usher

E. L.

McGrew

J. H.

(2011). Preliminary investigation of the sources of self-efficacy among teachers of students with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 26(2), 67–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357610397345

46.

Scott

L. A.

(2020). Reasons early career Black special education teachers quit their positions. American Journal of Educational Research and Reviews, 5(79), 1–17.

47.

Scott

L. A.

Bell

Dayton

Bowman

R. W.

Evans

Grillo

Spence

Layden

S. J.

(2023). Special education teachers of color retention decisions: Findings from a national study. Exceptional Children, 89(3), 256–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/00144029221109850

48.

Scott

L. A.

Shogren

K. A.

(2023). Advancing anti-racism and anti-ableism in transition: Equity-oriented indicators for research. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 46(4), 237–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/21651434231189665

49.

Stokes

T. F.

Baer

D. M.

(1977). An implicit technology of generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10(2), 349–367. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1977.10-349

50.

Thurm

Farmer

Salzman

Lord

Bishop

(2019). State of the field: Differentiating intellectual disability from autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, 526. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00526

51.

U.S. Department of Education. (2022). Teacher shortage areas [Data file]. https://tsa.ed.gov/#/reports

52.

Walker

V. L.

Snell

M. E.

(2017). Teaching paraprofessionals to implement function-based intervention. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 32(2), 114–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357616673561

53.

Weiss

Markowetz

Kiel

(2018). How to teach students with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities in inclusive and special education settings: Teachers’ perspectives on skills, knowledge and attitudes. European Education Research Journal, 17(6), 837–856. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904118780171

54.

White

Mason

C. Y.

(2006). Components of a successful mentoring program for beginning special education teachers: Perspectives from new teachers and mentors. Teacher Education and Special Education, 29(3), 191–201.

55.

Wong

V. W.

Ruble

L. A.

McGrew

J. H.

(2017). Too stressed to teach? Teaching quality, student engagement, and IEP outcomes. Exceptional Children, 83(4), 412–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402917690729

Teachers of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder,Intellectual Disability,and Developmental Disability: Supports and Their Intent to Stay in Special Education

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References