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Challenge
Initial Thoughts
Perspectives & Resources

What factors do you think influence special education teacher turnover?

  • Page 1: Teacher Retention and Turnover

What can school leaders do to reduce the number of special education teachers who leave each year?

  • Page 2: A Model for Retaining Effective Special Educators
  • Page 3: Recruiting and Hiring
  • Page 4: Teacher Induction
  • Page 5: Professional Learning
  • Page 6: Principal Support
  • Page 7: School Climate
  • Page 8: Job Design

Resources

  • Page 9: References & Additional Resources
  • Page 10: Credits
Wrap Up
Assessment
We want to hear from you. Please complete our brief Module Feedback Form.

What can school leaders do to reduce the number of special education teachers who leave each year?

Page 8: Job Design

Special educators’ jobs have been described as fragmented, with too many clerical tasks and not enough time to teach. Role overload occurs when special education teachers are unable to balance the demands of lesson planning and instruction with the other requirements of their jobs, such as attending IEP meetings, testing, writing reports, scheduling, and keeping up with paperwork. Role overload is a factor associated with special education teacher stress, dissatisfaction, and turnover. Special education teachers are clearly motivated to help their students to learn and want to spend their time on this important role, yet far too many do not see their roles as manageable.

School leaders can better structure special education roles, establish clear expectations, and help teachers avoid job stress and overload by considering the actions in the table below.

Objective Rationale Action Steps
Discuss the Job and the Expectations Role ambiguity is a problem for new special education teachers. They might be confused about what they are expected to do. School leaders can:

  • Help teachers see the big picture of their roles
  • Specify major job expectations and priorities
  • Explain how they will be evaluated
Reduce Caseloads, Especially for New Teachers Caseloads in special education have been growing; some suggest that they are getting close to those of general educators. Teachers with large caseloads have:

  • Fewer opportunities to address the needs of individual students
  • A great deal of paperwork to complete
  • Less time to collaborate
Minimize Non-teaching Responsibilities School leaders should eliminate unnecessary paperwork and make what is necessary clear and simple to complete.
  • Clerical personnel should complete what can be delegated.
  • Highly organized special education teachers might share their methods with others.
Help New Teachers Locate Resources and Materials Special educators require specialized resources for their teaching. These resources are not always readily available.
  • New teachers might need assistance locating or accessing curricular materials, teacher’s manuals, and support materials.
  • If these materials are not available, teachers might need some discretionary funds to purchase them.
  • Special education teachers also might need help gaining access to assistive technology.
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