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Special Education Teachers' Stress, Burnout, and Working Conditions during COVID-19.

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Title: Special Education Teachers' Stress, Burnout, and Working Conditions during COVID-19.
Authors: Kang, Jeongae1 (AUTHOR), Kim, Eunjoo2 (AUTHOR), Peeples, Katherine N1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Education Human Resources. Apr2026, Vol. 44 Issue 2, p315-345. 31p.
Subject Terms: *Psychological burnout, *Qualitative research, *COVID-19 pandemic, *Teaching methods, *Special education teachers, Psychological stress, Support services (Management), Work environment
Geographic Terms: United States
Abstract: Stress and burnout negatively affect the effectiveness, attrition, and shortage of special education teachers (SETs). The series of teaching modality changes during the COVID-19 pandemic made the boundaries of the traditional working conditions of SETs unclear. Although existing studies of SETs' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic have explored SET stress and burnout, those studies have mainly used quantitative measures that do not necessarily include teacher voices and have not explored the connections between the factors that cause SETs' stress and burnout. In this study, we argue that a new range of stressors caused by changes in teaching modality during the COVID-19 pandemic caused the chronic stress experienced by teachers that threatens their health, safety, and well-being. This qualitative study used a focus group interview method with eight SETs from three states in the United States and coded the interview transcriptions using constant comparative analysis method. We used the findings of Brunsting et al. (2014) as an organizational framework in analyzing SETs' stressors during COVID-19 across the individual, classroom, school building, and school district levels. Our findings especially highlight the importance of support from administrators to address the multiple, interconnected aspects of SETs' stress and burnout. Given the chronic effects of burnout of SETs from the COVID-19 pandemic, this article suggests multilevel guidelines for improving teachers' working conditions, including increasing administrative support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Education Human Resources is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Special Education Teachers' Stress, Burnout, and Working Conditions during COVID-19.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+burnout%22">Psychological burnout</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Qualitative+research%22">Qualitative research</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19+pandemic%22">COVID-19 pandemic</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+methods%22">Teaching methods</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Special+education+teachers%22">Special education teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+stress%22">Psychological stress</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Support+services+%28Management%29%22">Support services (Management)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Work+environment%22">Work environment</searchLink>
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  Data: Stress and burnout negatively affect the effectiveness, attrition, and shortage of special education teachers (SETs). The series of teaching modality changes during the COVID-19 pandemic made the boundaries of the traditional working conditions of SETs unclear. Although existing studies of SETs' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic have explored SET stress and burnout, those studies have mainly used quantitative measures that do not necessarily include teacher voices and have not explored the connections between the factors that cause SETs' stress and burnout. In this study, we argue that a new range of stressors caused by changes in teaching modality during the COVID-19 pandemic caused the chronic stress experienced by teachers that threatens their health, safety, and well-being. This qualitative study used a focus group interview method with eight SETs from three states in the United States and coded the interview transcriptions using constant comparative analysis method. We used the findings of Brunsting et al. (2014) as an organizational framework in analyzing SETs' stressors during COVID-19 across the individual, classroom, school building, and school district levels. Our findings especially highlight the importance of support from administrators to address the multiple, interconnected aspects of SETs' stress and burnout. Given the chronic effects of burnout of SETs from the COVID-19 pandemic, this article suggests multilevel guidelines for improving teachers' working conditions, including increasing administrative support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Education Human Resources is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.3138/jehr-2023-0115
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 31
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      – SubjectFull: Psychological burnout
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      – SubjectFull: COVID-19 pandemic
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      – SubjectFull: Teaching methods
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      – SubjectFull: Special education teachers
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      – SubjectFull: Psychological stress
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      – SubjectFull: Support services (Management)
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      – SubjectFull: Work environment
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      – SubjectFull: United States
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      – TitleFull: Special Education Teachers' Stress, Burnout, and Working Conditions during COVID-19.
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            NameFull: Kang, Jeongae
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              M: 04
              Text: Apr2026
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