Experiences of Working Conditions Among Special Education Teachers of Color Serving Students With EBD

Abstract

Consistent evidence indicates the importance of teachers of color for experiences and outcomes of students of color. Fortunately, extant studies consistently indicate special education teachers (SETs) teaching students with EBD are more likely to be people of color than other SETs. These SETs require supportive working conditions, but, to our knowledge, no studies have examined the experiences of SETs of color serving students with EBD. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of SETs of color who teach students with EBD, investigating how SETs of color rate their working conditions and intent to continue teaching students with EBD. Analyzing two extant data sets, we found that SETs of color experienced strong support from administrators and paraprofessionals, ratings of many working conditions did not differ by race/ethnicity, and SETs of color on average intended to stay in their jobs. However, of great concern, we found significant differences in experiences of school culture, colleague emotional support, and autonomy, with SETs of color rating school culture and colleague emotional support significantly lower and autonomy significantly higher than white SETs.