Special Education Teachers’ Conceptualizations of Burnout: An Iterative Thematic Inquiry Analysis

Phase 1: Assessing Beliefs

The first phase of ITI takes place prior to viewing the data. The purpose of this phase is to bring researchers’ knowledge of the literature and personal experience to bear on the research questions, without reflecting on the collected data. Our team first discussed our positionality. The analytic team consisted of three members, two women and one man, whose ethnoracial identities included Black, Hispanic, and White, two of whom were doctoral students and one a faculty member. The team had served different roles in K–12 education, including as district-level special education behavior and curriculum specialists, taught as general and special educators in general education and self-contained classrooms, worked at a wilderness school for students with significant behavioral challenges, and continue to substitute teach. In our experiences and roles, we have seen and experienced the challenges of attempting to maintain mental and physical health while supporting students and handling a large workload. We deeply value the work of special educators, understanding that their roles are complex and nuanced, and seek systemic solutions to better supporting their work.

To reduce power differential, the analytic team (a) alternated the order of who spoke first in discussion, (b) ensured everyone provided input during decision-making, (c) discussed the unique contribution that each person’s experience and knowledge brought to the team, and (d) used consensus decision making. Following ITI, the team independently generated expected themes for the data, then met to discuss, debrief, question, and expand on each other’s expectations based on knowledge of the research literature as well as experience. For example, while all authors posited that participants would describe burnout with descriptions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment based on both experience and prior research, the second and third authors also expected to see frustration to be a consistent emotion in SETs’ descriptions of burnout based on experience. Additionally, based in part on prior research (e.g., Bettini, Lillis, et al., 2022), the first author expected that the descriptions of lack of personal accomplishment to be centered in feeling unable to find a solution to the large workload or to others’ lack of support for students with disabilities rather than feeling unable to meet students’ needs directly. The product for Phase 1 is a detailed outline of the results section consisting of expected themes (see Table 2 for expected themes).

Phase 2: Building New Beliefs Through Encounters with the Data

We generated a form (see Appendix S3) for each team member to use for memoing to identify where focus group data supported, expanded, or challenged expectations as well as where expectations were absent from the data. We used a parallel-serial memoing analysis procedure (Patel et al., 2016), in which team members read a focus group transcript individually and consecutively, such that (a) one team member would read the focus group transcript and memo, (b) then a second team member would read the transcript, read the first team member’s memo, and add their own memo; and (c) the third team member would read the focus group, read both other team members’ memos, and add their own memo. The team met to discuss findings, ask clarifying questions, and generate additional memos prior to conducting a second parallel-serial memoing analysis procedure on the second focus group transcript. Using parallel-serial memoing also reduced the likelihood of an individual’s confirmation bias clouding the analysis. For example, the second author completed a second memo of the Midwestern focus group of burnout, noting that participants were describing a concept of being done—of not just being depersonalized, but of being depersonalized to the point of no return—that was not captured in the initial memo by the first author. Phase 2 products include the initial memos and a document with updated themes.

Phase 3: Listing Preliminary Themes

After we completed initial memoing, we listed preliminary themes, using the core themes from transcript memoing and discussion to focus on identifying settled themes aligned with the research questions. Through discussing potential themes, the team came to two key conclusions: (a) the deductive expectations were largely supported by the data with the exception that SETs would view burnout as part of the job; and (b) the inductive, unexpected themes that were generated through memoing the data were more salient to answering research questions. These unexpected themes coalesced around the idea of burnout as consistent—though not permanent—stages, including survival, struggling to cope with the emotional load, being done, and being gone. We continued to memo to solidify understanding of the non-expected themes until we reached saturation and fresh reviewing of the data revealed nothing new in memos. At this point, we completed the products for Phase 3 by listing preliminary themes and producing the codebook. Preliminary primary codes included burnout as (a) emotional exhaustion, (b) depersonalization, (c) lack of personal accomplishment, (d) frustration, (e) burning out as survival, (f) burning out as struggling to cope with emotional load, (g) being done, and (h) gone.

Phase 4: Evaluating Themes Through Coding

We applied the codebook to the data to assess the accuracy of themes generated both deductively and inductively via prior phases. As is expected with ITI, themes aggregated and shifted via coding, with detailed coding of data providing an additional opportunity to assess alignment of themes. High level themes were (a) burnout as traditional burnout, (b) burnout as frustration, (c) burnout as a combination of dimensions, and (d) burnout stages and process. For example, we generated a theme of burnout as a combination of dimensions due to participants describing burnout in multiple ways simultaneously (e.g., as both emotional exhaustion and lack of personal accomplishment). As we coded the themes related to what we termed stages and process of burnout, we noticed that participants appeared to be describing two tracks for burnout. One was via struggling to cope with the emotional load, which participants used to describe novice teachers as well as pre-service teachers in field placements. Participants used the second track, burning out as survival, to describe veteran teachers and those who had developed systems or had supports to manage the emotional load. The products for Phase 4 include the final codebook, memos, and the final results section. See Appendices S4, S5 and S6, for excerpts from memos demonstrating how we progressed through each ITI phase for three themes.

Not Burned Out

Although not a commonly discussed or described stage, the participating SETs did mention the potential to be not burned out. Not burned out was represented as one end of the spectrum of burnout, opposite of burnout. Participants described being not burned out as having “mental health” (Marcus) and enjoying their time working with students and seeing them grow. Molly shared: “I’m not burned out on teaching, I still love it.” SETs in both focus groups contrasted the lost joy during burnout with the fun of the job when it is going well. One participant noted that burnout was getting to the point when one thinks “gosh, this is not fun” (María), while Marcus highlighted that “we’re supposed to enjoy our job.” This enjoyment stemmed from personal accomplishment in seeing students learn and have success:

I feel the same way…if I could shut my door…I love those kids, even when they’re having a bad day, it’s like, but so fun to see when they get it…you did something and they got it (agreement in the room; Stephen: mm hmm; Sylvia: yeah). Like, this is why I teach. You know, you have those moments. That’s why we’re all here. That’s what we’re doing. (Sarah)

Similarly, when describing successful teamwork in class, Mike and a colleague were able to set up a “fine little shell” in which they were able to “work together well and click,” fusing their individual knowledge bases in subject areas—“she was really good with the English part, and I’m good on the math and sciences”—to reduce workload, serve students, and not burn out.

Although participants described the experience of not being burned out, it was considered a rare and more temporally fleeting stage. Generally, participants considered themselves and their colleagues to be experiencing more consistent stages of burnout—either struggling to cope with the emotional load of the job or being in survival mode, “unable to get ahead” trying to keep “above water at all times” (Sarah).

Burning Out

The main theme of burning out, or experiencing intermittent or continuous feelings of exhaustion, being overwhelmed, and/or being unable to make a frequent positive difference for students was described by participants as occurring in two different but interrelated states. Participants described burnout, particularly for novice teachers or teacher trainee interns, as struggling to cope with the emotional load of the job. For those who learned how to leave “the emotional load” at the door (e.g., experienced special educators), the experience of burning out was described as survival, constantly triaging and problem-solving in an attempt to keep up with the high workload.

Burning Out: Struggling to Cope with the Emotional Load (Novice Teachers). As teachers shared their conceptualizations of burnout, it became clear to the research team that, as one teacher stated: “the whole emotional factor is a lot” (Mia), especially for novice teachers who may not have developed the emotional strategies to buffer burnout. Teachers who were struggling to cope were overwhelmed by the emotionality of the job, having a difficult time leaving students’ traumas or needs at the door, and being unable to let go and focus on other things. For instance, Stella shared that during her first year she worked with under-resourced students who “just had some absolutely heartbreaking home stories, and the bleeding heart—24 years old—in me, it was just really hard not to take it home every day.” She went on to share that one day she “almost straight up walked out the door” before a facilitator intervened and helped her learn that she couldn’t “take it home with [her] every day.” Just as Stella noted the emotional load hit hardest in her first year, the participants continuously centered susceptibility to emotional overload as a challenge for novice teachers or teacher trainees. Four participants in the Midwest focus group had a rapid-fire exchange to the prompt “how can you tell when a teacher is burned out”:

• Marcus: They start taking all their sick days.

• [Everyone chimes in laughing and saying *yeah, taking all their sick days*]

• Mia: Those mental health days start going up…

• Magda: And it’s easy to tell.

• Mia: They cry. I’ve seen some crying teachers.

• Magda: Yeah, lots of crying.

• Mike: Mm. hmm.

• Mia: They quit eating lunch

• Mike: Most of ʼem are usually the young ones though.

• María: And they leave

• Mia: That cry?

• Mike: Yeah. Mostly first- and second-year teachers.

• Mia: After a while they just…

• Mike: I’ve been around long enough…think I’ve seen it all.

• Magda: Those are the ones you know probably aren’t going to make it. I’ve even had student teachers … I was like “you’re doing a great job” … she didn’t even try to get a teaching job … she was overwhelmed by everything. She goes “they didn’t teach me this in school.” I said “well, that’s why you’re here” (laughs).

And while the participants laughed and jested, they did so with empathy, as they had similar challenges coping emotionally during their first years. For example, Magda shared that in her first year, she, like other “newer teachers [wasn’t] quite prepared for the students.” She taught a “boy who was on the [Mothers Against Drunk Driving] poster, because he had gotten hit by a drunk driver” in her class, and it was so emotionally heavy for her that she “gave [herself] an ulcer because she’d go home and worry about the kids.” María, who “was a classroom teacher before [she] became a special education teacher” added perspective, sharing that the additional paperwork in special education “was very overwhelming” and that she could “imagine that someone who has never taught a classroom” and learned to “multitask” would have difficulty meeting students’ needs. Similarly, when Stella shared that “one of [their] new teachers cries about once a week,” Sydney interrupted to acknowledge “That’s me!” while others in the room gently laughed in acknowledgement. Thus, participants highlighted that the combination of the high workload, the lack of experience and preparation, and the high emotional load were indicative of novice teachers struggling to cope and beginning to burn out.

Participants in both focus groups did not blame the novice teachers, rather they identified lack of appropriate training and expectation-setting as a reason for novice teachers’ coping challenges. Magda noted that student teachers and novice teachers “are not taught how to leave it at the door…they take it home with them and they’re worried about these kids.” Sylvia recommended that “new teachers starting out need to be told” to protect their time out of school. Those struggling to cope with the emotional demands of the job who did not have collegial support or for whom the emotional demands were exceptionally intense were described as moving quickly into the next stage—being done. When sharing about newer teachers struggling with the emotionality of the job, one participant (Magda) shared: “we have a teacher … this is only her second year … she’s already missed 3 weeks.”

However, participants described how many novice SETs could learn to cope (as indicated by the learn to cope arrow in Figure 1), often through mentorship by their experienced colleagues. Sylvia modeled protecting time to support emotional coping, telling novice teacher coworkers “set a time limit that you are going home today, and I would go home and I would call her on it. It’s five o’clock and I told you [that] you need to be gone, you know…put your boyfriend on the phone.” Similarly, Stella was overwhelmed emotionally in her first year “bleeding heart” when the school counselor intervened: “she was like, you can’t take this home with you every day; you’ve got to leave it here.” María, who had transitioned to special education after over a decade as a general educator provided additional insight: “all I had to learn was the paperwork…but that was very overwhelming…I can imagine that someone whose never taught a classroom…[wouldn’t] be able to do that.” Through learning emotional coping skills and other initial skills needed (e.g., paperwork, multitasking), novice teachers could grow into experienced teachers and transition from struggling to cope to surviving.

Burning Out: Surviving in Attempt to Keep Up with Workload (Experienced Teachers). Although the emotional exhaustion aspect of burnout was clearly related to overwork as previously described, the research team noted nuance in how participants were describing burnout. They described burnout as not just as experiencing exhaustion but actively straining against the exhaustion in trying to keep up with their workload. As one teacher described, burnout felt like being “on this hamster wheel that just keeps rolling” (Sarah). Participants similarly described their experience of overwork as a special educator as “drowning” (Sarah) or “being asked to run a race and then they blindfold you and tie your shoes together” (Stella). Teachers across both focus groups shared they felt as if their burnout was exacerbated by the feeling of not being able to keep up with their work, leading them to feel as though they were in a constant state of survival, treading water, and having to triage (i.e., sacrificing one’s needs to meet another’s).

Educators described how they felt overwhelmed while trying to meet students’ diverse needs without support. Marcus shared the challenge in figuring out ways to support students when “the things you need for your kids to be successful [are] not there,” providing an example of an 18-student class with a range of academic levels and significant behavioral needs. Supporting students often required additional tasks beyond classroom instruction that further exacerbated workload. For instance, Mia described not only creating and providing materials to fellow general education teachers but also teaching them how to use and implement the materials. When students were pulled from class for therapies or assessments, SETs noted being expected to triage by sacrificing a planning period or otherwise to meet with students. All Midwestern participants agreed with Marcus, who explained that, in his experience, administrators often placed a special educator to substitute in a general education classroom due to the substitute-teacher shortage, which would require him to “pull the kids out of lunch to come up and eat their lunch with me, so we can catch up on what we missed in class.” Thus, participants’ descriptions suggested they triaged by sacrificing their lunch or planning in order to instruct their students. This struggle to keep up with an ever-changing workload left SETs two poor choices: reduce ability to meet students’ needs or do more planning and work outside of school hours. Each option either increased emotional exhaustion or reduced personal accomplishment regarding their ability to successfully support students’ needs.

In an effort to mitigate the ongoing “balancing act” of the survival stage (Stephen), teachers explained how they worked outside of contractual hours well into the evenings and on weekends. To address this, teachers emphasized a need for prioritizing “mental health” (Marcus) and setting boundaries (Sylvia). With support, some teachers described experiencing temporary struggles, but ultimately being able to continue to work effectively:

I mean, all of us get burned out. I mean I’ve done this…this is 26 years, and …I’m burned out for a day, or a week or… but I think it’s the people, like you said, it’s just, you don’t ever see them ever switch back over to…I’m back in it. (Selena)

Stephen shared: “everybody has their days. Wake up, like, I just don’t got it today, then the next day you got it…you see that [other] teacher, it’s weekly, every week … [Interviewer: “chronic”] … Yeah.” For others though, such struggles were more pervasive and sustained. “People who are about to burn out… are so overwhelmed and all they can do is try to get all that little stuff…before they leave” (Sienna). In this way, SETs often viewed survival as burning out, whereas being done, disengaging, and depersonalizing were indicative of being burned out.

Being Done/Burned Out

Perceptions of being done, of being fully burned out, manifested as SETs no longer finding joy in their work and either (a) coasting to retirement, (b) disengaging from students, and/or (c) about to quit. Stephen shared how an SET colleague of his grew tired of the constant school reassignment at the start of the year based on student numbers stated, “I’m done. I’m gonna go do real estate.” Magda related a time when another teacher “gets up in these kids’ faces and you know, she’s pointing her finger at ʼem” to which both Mike and Molly respond with “She’s done.” Participants gave an account of peers deciding not to continue in their roles, sometimes transferring to different positions or schools, or “counting it down” until they can be done (Sylvia). Burnout in this manner was described as a desire to “give up” (Sienna, Sarah). SETs stated that the “balancing act” (Stephen) they experience when trying to navigate multiple challenging responsibilities leads to being “done” (Mike, Molly). In this state, more than just surviving, teachers are fully overloaded and can become ineffective in their work. Burnout for these teachers meant “there’s nothing left” (Molly). For example, one participant described teachers who were done as “They show up at the time to work and they are gone out of the door when the kids are gone out the door” (Mia), to which other participants agreed. Another shared that her experience observing other teachers’ classrooms illuminated the degree of their being done to the point where she thought “oh my, you need to retire, because you’re miserable and it directly impacts the students” (Molly); examples of direct impacts on students were provided: “when teachers get burned out, they tend to give Ds and Fs” (Magda), “their words are sharp and curt in tone” (Molly), and “they might single out kids” (Mia). For other teachers, being done transitioned to quitting: “Second week of school, [the new math teacher] decides she’s done, this is not what she signed up for […] so guess what? I become the gen-ed teacher with, with still SpEd responsibilities […] and I did that for the rest of the quarter” (Mike). Similarly, Magda shares about how the second-year teacher who “already missed three weeks” was done and not returning: “she hasn’t been back since fall break.”

Although being done is similar to depersonalization in that SETs distance themselves from students’ needs, participants’ perception of being done is conceptually distinct due to degree. While depersonalization ranges in frequency and intensity, participants described SETs being done as fully checked out, often coasting to retirement, rather than oscillating between sometimes engaging students and not engaging them at all. Participants provided many examples of done SETs who stayed checked out or left, and provided only one instance of an SET who was done who eventually returned to stages of surviving/triaging and not burned out after transferring schools.

Gone

Beyond being done, teacher burnout was described by participants across both focus groups as gone. Gone represented the telos—the endpoint—of teachers’ burnout experiences and was described as a teacher who has left the school with finality; not just as being done and taking sick days but deciding to quit and leave the profession. In his response to the initial prompt to describe burnout, Mike responded “when you say teacher burnout, I just think of teachers leaving,” which Magda built upon, sharing: “I see a lot of younger people leaving special ed quickly because the training’s not there.” Selena described burnout as being gone: “if a teacher gets burned out and they are a really good teacher, you are gonna lose that good teacher and they are gonna be replaced by a first-year teacher,” with the idea that it takes a few years for a novice teacher to learn to cope and also be effective in instruction. Participants emphasized, however, that it is not just novice teachers that leave: “we have…two life-skills teachers that are both… both retiring in December. You know, they’ve had enough” (Molly).

The theme of gone wove through both conversations, particularly the impact of vacancies on the students, teachers, and even future pipeline of teachers. Magda summed up the challenge of burned-out teachers being gone: “The other teachers who have to cover for the teachers that aren’t there. The administration has got to explain to the parents why your children aren’t learning today, because we don’t have anybody.” In instances such as these, the remaining SETs are pulled from their own instruction to cover in other classrooms, thus furthering their own burnout. Teachers being gone was particularly acute for one participant: “we had 17 vacancies four years ago in the school that I’m at” (Mike). For Selena, the turnover of teachers in their building was continuous: “[a special education] teacher took medical leave, and they hired somebody and then they quit.” Mia pointed to the vacancies and the national context as impacting the pipeline and longevity of the profession: “They can’t find teachers. I mean when you look in school, in job openings, there are special ed openings all over the place … people aren’t going into it.” Wryly summing up teacher burnout, when asked what teachers needed from the school or district to reduce burnout, Marcus joked: “not going into the profession.” Thus, although gone represented the endpoint of burnout, it also contributed to the understaffed and under-resourced contexts in which other teachers experienced different stages of burnout.