INTERVENTIONS AND RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL AND/OR BEHAVIOR DISORDERS

Teacher burnout has become a growing concern within the field of education. Research in intervention strategies and resources that can be employed by schools and districts to reduce the level of burnout many teachers of students with emotional and behavior disorders are experiencing has been limited. This qualitative study examined teacher and staff perceptions of working with students with emotional and behavioral disorders and their impact on teacher burnout. The guiding questions that fueled this study are: 1. To what extent does training teachers and paraprofessionals on the use of tiered intervention strategies impact their levels of experienced burnout in working with students with emotional and behavioral disorders? 2. To what degree does implementing intervention strategies change the perceptions of teachers and staff about teaching students with emotional and behavioral disorders? 3. How does incorporating direct support from administrators and/or mentors influence teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders to remain in teaching? Participants in the study were teachers and staff who worked directly with the students in specialized self-contained classes at a small elementary school. Data were collected from pre and post burnout inventories, walk through observations, meeting summary notes, and mentor/mentee meeting notes. Conclusions about how the implementation of intervention strategies could reduce teacher burnout in self-contained classrooms of students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders included the following: (1) faculty and staff valued training received from certified professionals tailored to their specific needs, (2) training the staff on a defined instructional approach with clear roles identified helped to reduce negative behaviors and loss of instructional time, (3) support and collaboration with all stakeholders helped teachers and staff experience less burnout and remain in teaching, and (4) mentor teachers provided significant support to mentees, in particular with behavior intervention management and IEP development.

INDEX WORDS: Emotional and Behavior Disorders, burnout, intervention strategies