Burnout Among Elementary and Secondary Special Education Teachers in Self-Contained and Resource Classrooms

The goals of the present study were threefold: (1) to determine if there is a difference in the degree of reported burnout between elementary and secondary special education teachers, (2) to determine if there is a difference in the degree of reported burnout between self-contained and resource special education teachers, and (3) to identify the characteristics inherent in the role of special education teachers that best predict the presence of burnout. Ninety-three subjects from three school systems responded to a 16-item Likert scale describing potential correlates of burnout, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and a demographic data sheet. Type of class, level of class, and school system (independent variables), and responses to the Maslach Burnout Inventory (dependent variables) were subjected to analyses of variance. There were no significant differences found in the amount of reported burnout between elementary and secondary teachers, and between self-contained and resource teachers. Step-wise multiple correlation and regression analyses were performed, using age, years in special education, years in the system, school system, and the 16 items on the Likert scale as predictors and the responses to the Maslach Burnout Inventory as criteria. The results of the regression analyses yielded a number of predictors of burnout among special education teachers.