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Retention of Special Education Teachers

Amanda L Johnson

Educational Leadership Program, Prescott College

MEDL 50090 Personnel Management in Education

Professor John E. Tufte, Ed.D.

March 6, 2022
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Retention of Special Education Teachers

A highly competent teacher workforce is a necessary foundation for improving education

for every student, everywhere. Currently, nationwide, there is a shortage of qualified teachers,

especially in the high need area of special education. In rural parts of Arizona, 85% of

administrators reported that it was difficult to hire staff (Hunting, 2017).This shortage of teachers

can result in practices that perpetuate further attrition (Berry, Petrin, Gravelle, Farmer, 2012).

Administrators in these areas state that they have the most difficulty recruiting and retaining

teachers due to compensation, workload, and resources available. As the education industry

grows, the recruitment of teachers has become slightly easier, however the retention of teachers

is still at an all time low. While salary and pay schedules are always a contributing factor to the

recruitment and retention of teachers, the quality of administrative support is often the top

reason teachers identify for leaving or staying in the profession (Podolsky, Darling-Hammond, &

Bishop, 2019).

As an administrator taking into consideration these thoughts are going to be vital to the

success of the individual school and district. Schools must continually invest in recruitment

efforts, professional support, and training for new teachers in order to entice teachers to apply

and stay at their school. Implementing a comprehensive recruitment strategy is imperative for

districts to combat the shortage of qualified special education teachers and to provide an

appropriate education to the students they serve (Putney, 2009). Many administrators and

human resources departments have begun developing and implementing retention plans within

their schools. Depending on the area in the country, these plans can vary and change. For

special education, retention plans have become more universal across the country. By

successfully using a retention strategy, schools are more likely to attract a more diverse and

culturally competent applicant to meet the needs of students requiring services. Many of these

plans focus on professional development and a cohesive school culture. Caseload size is a
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more difficult area to address, simply because of the current teacher shortage. Therefore the

administration is taking steps to help support and grow the staff that they have.

Administrative Support

While salary and pay schedules are always a contributing factor to the recruitment and

retention of teachers, the quality of administrative support is often the top reason teachers

identify for leaving or staying in the profession (Podolsky, Darling-Hammond, & Bishop, 2019).

Providing a collaborative and supportive environment along with salaries is a strong predictor of

retaining teachers. Administrative support can take the form of many things including providing

emotional, environmental, and instructional support. Research has shown that working

conditions affect teachers ability to teach well, and these working conditions, on average, are

worse in high needs areas as well high-poverty districts. Teacher turnover is 50% higher in

these areas, although when surveyed these teachers state they are leaving due to stressful

working conditions and not because they do not want to teach (Podolsky, Darling-Hammond, &

Bishop, 2019). This goes to show that with the proper working environment, even in high needs

or high poverty areas, teacher retention is much higher.

One way to improve teachers' working conditions is to invest in principal development.

Improving principal preparation may contribute to more effective school leaders who are able to

attract and retain teachers (Podolsky, Darling-Hammond, & Bishop, 2019). One study of a

principal preparation program aimed at developing such leaders found that it reduced both

teacher and principal turnover (Jacob, Goddard, Kim, Miller, & Goddard, 2015). Teachers that

recently left teaching positions in New York City charter schools between 2010 and 2011

consistently noted that principals’ “high and often implicit expectations” contributed to their

feeling a lack of trust with their principals that, in turn, influenced their decision to leave the

school (Torres, 2016, p.61). Administrative attrition is even more in high needs areas than in

others. There have been multiple studies done that have shown that teachers' perception of
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administration was a dominant factor in deciding to stay or leave. Therefore strong and

knowledgeable leadership must be developed properly for it to be effective.

Studies have consistently shown that when teachers feel that workloads are

manageable, their time is valued, and they have the resources and support they need, they

experience more positive affective responses to work and are more likely to intend to stay

(Albrecht et al., 2009: Bettini, Jones, et al., 2017). In Special Education the workload and case

management can be overwhelming for any one teacher as well as the required knowledge to

complete their job.Special educators rely on coordination among many professionals to service

their students, therefore their retention may be especially dependent on administrators (Young,

Jones, & Low, 2011). Since administrators coordinate the work of all teachers in the school,

administrative support may underlie other working conditions, including demands and logistical

resources (Bettini, Cumming,et.al., 2020). Special education teachers need to be ensured that

they are receiving the materials they need and the curricular resources that support them in the

classroom. An administrator can develop a school master schedule where there is ample

instructional support and planning time. Effective communication between staff and leaders is a

top predictor of staff retention as well. One correlational study of principal support and teacher

retention in 17 schools in a western state in the United States found that teachers who expected

to remain teaching in their school rated emotional and environmental support as the attributes

they valued most highly from their administration (Hughes, Matt, & O’Reilly, 2015).

Administration must put focus on creating an environment that is supportive and

inclusive in order to retain more staff over time. Leaders have a responsibility to ensure that

their staff is well supported. Administration can improve retention and feelings of security by

improving the working conditions for staff as well as consistently interacting and helping staff

when they are feeling overwhelmed. By becoming a more prominent fixture in teachers' daily

work life, administration will motivate and entice teachers to stay not only in the industry but at

their school as well.

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Professional Development and Continued Learning

Barrett, Cowen, Toma and Troske (2015) highlighted the importance of professional

development as the central most important strategy for retention of educators (Rude & Miller,

2018). When administrators are considering professional development topics however,

consideration into what the teachers find most beneficial needs to be taken. In one study the

most frequently selected topics by staff were: (a) special education process (e.g. writing IEPs),

(b) technology, (c ) general curriculum content, and (d) further training in specific disability

categories. Twenty-six percent of the teachers specified that training related to their roles in the

classroom were most helpful professionally (Berry, Petrin, Gravelle, & Farmer, 2012). Ongoing

training and mentorship, primarily for new teachers, has also proven to contribute to teacher

retention. Having veteran teachers that provide a comprehensive set of support has shown that

retention of new teachers more than doubles (Podolsky, Darling-Hammond, & Bishop, 2019).

Implementing induction support for new teachers can be an enticement for new teachers

entering the field as they are developing their own set of skills, and further lead to retention

within the school if done properly.

In one survey completed in 2013 special education teachers stated that administrators'

support in professional growth (e.g. workshops and opportunities to learn) was significantly

higher for those who planned to stay. More specifically special educators planning on staying

value professional development on behavior management (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019). The

usefulness and appropriateness of professional development is one area that can either help

with retention or hurt it. Professional development, specifically for special educators, needs to

be focused on areas that pertain to them, be timed accordingly, and preferably ones that the

individual teacher chooses. It is a delicate balance and one that requires flexibility from

administration, as special educators want to participate, but they also need time to do their

paperwork, so they don’t want to waste their time (Bateman & Bateman, 2014).
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Special Education teachers provide instruction to students, but they also play other roles,

such as counselor, nurse, parent, disciplinarian, and behavior specialist. Therefore they need to

have the knowledge and skills to handle all of these areas. Administration needs to understand

this and provide them with time to attend trainings on wider range of topics, including but not

limited to (Bateman & Bateman, 2014):

● Aligning curriculum to the Common Core State Standards,

● Safe Crisis Management,

● Positive behavior intervention and supports,

● Transition,

● Response to Intervention,

● Universal design for learning,

● Direct Instruction,

● Incorporating technology/assistive technology,

● Co-teaching and

● Inclusive classroom practices.

Every special educator is at a different point in their career, therefore, the one size fits all

courses do not adequately and appropriately support them as individuals. While professional

development is not a driving factor in teacher retention it is something that needs to be taken

into consideration. Continued learning needs to be encouraged and supported by

administration, allowing the teachers to have more input into their career and professional

growth. The best investment that can help to assure retention of highly effective educators is the

provision of high quality professional development programs (Rude & Miller, 2018).

Educational Subsidies

New strategies that are beginning to be implemented in order to improve the teacher

shortage is the use of student-loan forgiveness incentives. While currently these are not top

considerations for educators entering the field, they are becoming more prevalent and useful,
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especially in high need areas. One study found that educational subsidies, particularly ex-post

loan forgiveness for early-career teachers, can be effective tools in promoting the retention of

teachers in high need areas (Feng & Sass, 2018). Opportunities to advance into leadership

roles and/or share expertise is also proving to be of interest to teachers. Helping teachers to get

Nationally Board Certified is a well established process that shows leadership supports and

encourages advancement within the school. When leadership builds this support system, loyalty

from the teachers grows, leading to higher rates of retention (Podolsky, Darling-Hammond, &

Bishop, 2019).

In one study done by Feng and Sass in 2017, they found that for the first six years of

teaching, loan forgiveness recipients were more likely to remain a public school teacher than

non-recipients (Feng & Sass, 2018). Loan forgiveness programs help with reducing teacher

attrition as long as the payments are being received.There have been two main periods of loan

forgiveness programs, prior to 2001 was considered a high-payout period, and after 2001 was

considered a low-payout period. The effect of the program during the high-payout period was

statistically significant, with an attrition reduction of 10.9 percentage points. Whereas in the

low-payout period it was insignificant with about a 0.5 percentage rate (Feng & Sass, 2018).

In the Schools and Staffing Survey, one in four public school teachers who left teaching

stated that they would consider returning to the profession with the loan forgiveness program.

Loan forgiveness programs are set up as an exchange for a number of years of service in the

profession, particularly in high needs areas such as special education. Successful program

models tend to offer a substantial enough award to be an effective inducement and commit

recipients to teach with reasonable financial consequences if the recipient does not fulfill the

commitment (Podolsky, Kini, Darling-Hammond & Bishop, 2019). These loan forgiveness

programs for special education teachers can be effective tools in promoting the retention of

teachers.

Resources
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Schools are social organizations, characterized by cultural norms, values, and

assumptions that guide how teachers act and interact (Youngs, Frank, Thum, & Low, 2012).

School resources as well as material resources and demands on the teachers account for a

large portion of variance in the retention of special education teachers (Bettini, et al., 2020),

which is encouraging since these are things that a school administrator can change and

improve upon. Schools with sufficient instructional materials and supplies, safe and clean

facilities, reasonable student-to-teacher ratios, and adequate support personnel can positively

affect retention rates (Borman & Dowling, 2008). A growing number of research completed

indicates that resources that provide support to professionals, whether its instructional,

curricular, social or emotional, are directly correlated to the retention of special education

teachers.

Since special educators may teach both foundational skills and state standards, they

may need a wide array of instructional and curricular resources. Access to and the availability of

these resources have been shown to play a role in whether an educator stays or leaves.

Teachers who receive a comprehensive set of support have been found to stay in teaching two

times more than those that lack the support (Podolsky, Kini, Darling-Hammond, & Bishop,

2019). The availability of adequate instructional resources (e.g. books, paper, school supplies,

technology) can influence morale and teachers’ self-perceived effectiveness (Ware & Kitsantas,

2007). Although many teachers do their best to cope in times of resource deficits, many times

spending their personal money to do so, morale and confidence can become low. This becomes

especially prominent in hard-to-staff schools leading to a significant deficit in teacher retention.

Research has shown that when resources are low and demands are high, teachers experience

unmanageable workloads and burnout and are more likely to plan to leave (Bettini, et al., 2020).

Workload Manageability

Workload manageability is a teacher's subjective perception of the degree to which

responsibilities can be completed adequately within time allotted (Bettini, Jones, et al., 2017).
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Demands and resources predict workload manageability for special educators. Studies have

examined a wide array of working conditions, generally finding that special educators are likely

to leave or intend to leave when they experience more work demands and weaker social

support (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019). Special educators’ time is dispersed across many activities,

including paperwork, IEP meetings, instruction, and collaboration. Several studies found their

perceptions of the adequacy of their time was associated with intent (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019).

Managing IEPs and ensuring compliance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

is a key responsibility for special educators. These non teaching responsibilities are

burdensome to teachers, interfere with instruction, and may contribute to attrition (Billingsley &

Bettini, 2019). These factors combine in unique ways to create teaching assignments that vary

dramatically both within and across schools. Regardless of location, paperwork is a primary

responsibility of special educators, and while this is known going into the profession, many

studies have shown that paperwork is one of the top reasons why educators choose to leave

the profession. Billingsley and Bettini’s study conducted in 2019 determined that (Billingsley &

Bettini, 2019):

Qualitative studies provided special educators’ perspectives on paperwork. They

indicated paperwork (a) is overwhelming, and contributes to a difficult workload; (b)

involces varied types of tasks, such as long IEP forms; (c) is redundant, requiring them

to maintain multiple sets of records; and (d) interferes with time to teach.

However, there has been some discrepancy in studies over the years, where administrators

state that paperwork is a top reason for special educators to leave, but teachers themselves do

not always identify it as a reason. Either way, paperwork needs to be taken into consideration

when it comes to special educators workload manageability. Providing time specifically for

completing paperwork is one way an administrator can help to support the special educator.

One of the top contributors to teacher attrition or retention is caseload size. Several

studies have found that the overall number of students taught was directly related to the intent
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to stay or leave the profession. When evaluating this though it is important to take into

consideration the different types of caseloads. One study conducted concluded that special

educators state larger caseloads are more manageable when the students are all on or around

the same instructional level. It is only when the caseload size grows with a varying degree of

instructional levels needed. Instructional grouping and the number of lessons that teachers

planned significantly predicted workload manageability, which mediated indirect relationships

with stress, emotional exhaustion, and intent to stay (Bettini et al, 2020). Such factors as

extremely large pupil-staff ratios and smaller levels of expenditures for teaching material have

been found to be associated with higher staff turnover (Theobald, 1990).

The use of paraprofessionals to help manage workloads is a common practice used,

however the research on this practice varies substantially between being beneficial and being

detrimental. Due to the national push to full inclusion of special education students in general

education classrooms, paraprofessionals can end up adding more work to the special educator,

as they do not always have a need for them in a pull out classroom and therefore the scheduling

and managing of these paraprofessionals adds a layer of stress to the special educator. When

used the inclusion of trained paraprofessionals and special educators in the general education

classroom, has required a higher degree of collaboration with general education teachers. In

today’s educational settings,where inclusion is being implemented in almost all schools,

collaboration, however, has become essential specifically with the increased percentage of

special needs student being included in regular environments, in addition teachers are required

to accommodate all students needs including special needs students (Alghazo & Alkhazaleh,

2021).

Collaboration

Special education teachers will need well-developed collaboration skills to communicate

and work with various service providers in the ways required to design cohesive and precise

instruction. In current contexts, collaboration will center on (a) collecting and interpreting initial
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and ongoing assessment data, (b) planning precise classroom and intervention instruction, (c)

measuring students response to classroom or intervention instruction, (d) making changes to

instructional plans based on assessment data (Leko et al., 2015). With the impact of the No

Child Left Behind and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, special educators are required

to be familiar with and have access to the general education curriculum. Gaining this knowledge

and resources requires a special educator to work closely with their general education

colleagues. Collaboration between the two sets of teachers is essential in the support,

monitoring, and success of the student (Gehrke & Murri, 2006). Collaboration has also been

found to play a major role in motivating special education teachers to stay in the profession.

One of the most important elements in collaboration is effective communication and in

order for teachers to communicate positively with one another they must have positive attitudes,

which in turn will create a better environment for all teachers and be more productive (Alghazo

& Alkhazaleh, 2021). A culture of collaboration does not spontaneously occur within schools, it

takes effort and communication between educators within the school. Establishing time for

teachers to collaborate, plan, examine student work, and self-reflect with each other will help to

build a safe environment and a strong sense of community.

Conclusion

In a time of severe teacher shortages and lack of qualified candidates, schools and

districts need to focus on creating and maintaining a learning environment that is not only

accessible for all students, but also one that builds comradery and loyalty from staff. Raising

salaries is not enough anymore. Qualified teachers, especially in the high needs areas such as

Special Education, are looking for more than money. These teachers are more concerned with

stress levels, development opportunities, and support from leadership and colleagues. All of

which can be improved upon with minimal financial cost to the district. By implementing and

building programs that fit the needs of the staff, schools will be more likely to recruit and retain

qualified teachers, in turn allowing the schools to grow student and financial wise.
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