Burnout Among Special Education Teachers and the Role of Individual, Interpersonal, and Organizational Risk and Protective Factors

Abstract

Burnout is a syndrome commonly characterized by the three dimensions of Maslach and Leiter's model, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of professional accomplishment. While burnout affects individuals in all professions, teachers are recognized as being at particular risk, a fact explained in the literature by the high level of relational demands inherent to the profession. During the pandemic and subsequently, these demands have even increased. Several studies have focused on the influence of individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors predicting teacher burnout risk. Yet, less is known about special education teachers working in inclusive and non-inclusive settings and how the pandemic has particularly affected their burnout risk. Thus, this study aimed to examine (1) whether burnout risk among special education teachers has increased since the pandemic and (2) whether burnout risk is related to individual, interpersonal, and organizational variables, including factors related to the pandemic. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of special education teachers in Switzerland (n = 358) using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Since there are three distinctive dimensions of burnout, which might also be differently associated with risk and protective factors, we conducted separate logistic regression analyses to predict risk status for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment by individual, interpersonal, and organizational variables. Results indicate that for emotional exhaustion, individual teaching satisfaction and health problems are most important, whereas for depersonalization individual teaching satisfaction, good relationships with parents and working in an inclusive setting decrease burnout risk. An inclusive setting increases the risk, regarding lack of personal accomplishment, while all other effects are non-significant. Implications for practice are discussed.