Widespread Attrition by Special Education Teachers
The number of special education teachers who leave their jobs yearly is staggering. The attrition rate for this specialized group of teachers runs between eight percent and ten percent annually. The yearly shortage for special education teachers is estimated at 29,000.
Schools pay heavily when any teacher leaves. There are hefty costs associated with turnover. This includes recruitment costs and a school's lost investment in professional development.
They pay more dearly when special education teachers quit. With the shortage of special education teachers in the marketplace, the recruitment process is even more costly and difficult. It is, however, the students who lose the most when their teacher decides to leave. They must learn new routines and procedures, something most special education students find difficult in the first place. Parents, too, have to start over. They must become acquainted with new approaches and expectations.
Most special education replacement teachers are beginning teachers. This can be a positive factor in some situations but in many schools it creates an imbalance of experience. Schools with too many new teachers often experience more problems with discipline and experience lower academic performance.
Schools in low-income areas tend to have more inexperienced teachers. According to a recent article in Edutopia, an online magazine, "Inexperienced teachers (those with less than three years on the job) frequently land in classrooms with the most needy and challenging students. Beginning teachers frequently start their careers at hard-to-staff schools where resources may be scarce--in other words, urban schools--simply because there are more jobs available there."
Reasons for leaving
When special education teachers are asked about why they left or intend to leave they site a variety of reasons. Here are a few:
Many teachers (special education and general) claim that it was unrealistic expectations that drove them to leave teaching. As also noted in the Edutopia online magazine article from Edutopia, Schools Out, many teachers feel overwhelmed by the workload and the lack of support. "New teachers are expected to assume a full schedule of classes, create their own lesson plans, and develop teaching techniques and classroom-management strategies in relative isolation."
Threats of violence by students in special education may also contribute to a teacher's decision to leave. Kaplan, Posey and Cornell conducted a study which compared threats of violence made by K-12 students in special education and regular education. This study was conducted in two school districts and found that threats of violence appear to be more prevalent among students in special education than in regular education. In this study nearly half of all reported threats were made by special education students, even though special education students represented only 17% of enrollment.
Helping to solve the problem
The role of the principal is considered one of the most important factors in helping to curb the high turnover of special education staff. Principals can affect caseloads, the amount of paperwork, the amount of collaboration with general education colleagues, discipline and personal support levels.
In many schools principals have initiated general and special education teacher teams to problem-solve and to institute ways of helping regular and special education students. This is certainly needed in light of higher standards for both general and special education students and as more and more special education students are required to be given access to the general education curriculum.
Principals can also lend more support to the discipline efforts of special education teachers. Specialized teachers deserve the same level of support from school administrators when referring a student to the office as the general education staff receive. Many administrators believe that special education is outside of their realm of expertise and only become minimally involved in the classroom management concerns of special education teachers. The Advantage Press creates discipline lessons for special education teachers in grades 2-12. Lessons focus on a specific misconduct and prompt students to think about what went wrong and how they can get back on the right track. They are an excellent resource for I.E.P.s, providing staff with topic specific lessons that also serve as documentation in progressive discipline.
Making sure that teacher caseloads are within limits is something that requires principal intervention. It is all too easy to add just "one more student" to an already full caseload. When caseloads dictate the need for an aide, help may only come with principal awareness and involvement.
A burdensome amount of paperwork can often be alleviated with the principal's recommendation for clerical or technical help. This type of help can often cut stress and allow a teacher to focus more clearly on their job of educating the students.
Teachers often seek the emotional support of principals as they encounter the normal challenges of the job. This includes taking a genuine interest in the teachers work, and showing support and concern for their students and programs.
With special education teacher churn on the rise principals can do much to stem the tide. Principals are vitally important to the success of special educators and their respective programs. The level of the principal's involvement with this group of teachers either raises or lowers the chances of these individuals leaving or staying in the field. Principal interest, involvement and support also has an effect on both the discipline and achievement of special education students.
NEW
The Advantage Press, Inc., offers challenging interview questions at its website on a monthly basis. Questions help teachers answer thought provoking questions and school administrators pose them. See if these "challenging questions" can help you, regardless of what side of the interviewing desk you sit on. Previous challenging questions and answers are also posted.
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Advantage Press: Resources for Better Schools
Often a combination of these factors leads to a final decision not to stay in the field.
The Advantage Press, Inc. publishes a number of behavior packets that can help educators solve behavior problems with students. Over 1,000 schools have purchased our Bullying Packets. We are introducing two new sets of packets to help educators better motivate students. These packets are designed to help students exercise Positive Thinking and gain Self-confidence. Use them to help motivate students to read. A free sample is available at our website.