Social assets and the career intent of teachers serving students with extensive support needs

Abstract

Decades of research indicate social support is vital for retaining teachers. However, little is known about social support for teachers serving students with extensive support needs. The purpose of this study was to explore whether collective social assets (administrative support, colleague support, paraeducator support, school culture) were associated with retaining special education teachers (SETs) who serve students with extensive support needs (e.g., intellectual disability, autism). Stepwise regression analyses and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze survey data from SETs across the United States. Results showed that positive social supports are critical, and teachers serving students with autism reported the highest levels of social support in three of the four social assets categories. Implications for future research and practice are discussed, as well as a need to promote and better understand positive school culture as this variable weighed heavily across SETs.