Journal of K-12 Educational Research 31 A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY ON REDUCING ATTRITION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS Stephanie Denise Leach, EdD Journal of K-12 Educational Research 2024, VOL. 7, ISSUE 1 www.dbu.edu/doctoral/edd Introduction Teachers across the nation are leaving the profession at alarming rates. Teachers in specialized areas such as special education are leaving at higher rates than their peers in other certifications. School districts are constantly recruiting, hiring, and training new teachers, which reduces the effectiveness of teaching and learning in the classroom. The continual need to find teachers to fill classrooms does not allow administrators at the district and campus level to examine the reason teachers are leaving at such high rates. Instead, the focus needs to be on what measures are effective in keeping teachers in the classroom. The current study examined the perceptions of special education teachers in their first year in a fast growth district in North Texas. Teachers who participated in the current study were asked interview questions surrounding the support they received from both campus and district administrators throughout the year and what they perceived as effective. A district administrator served in the role of key informant to provide the researcher insight into the support provided by the district and those expected at the campus level. Summary of Study Teacher attrition has been plaguing the public school system for more than three decades. Districts spend millions of dollars on hiring, onboarding, and training teachers only for the majority to leave the profession in the first 3 years (Synar & Maiden, 2013). Constant staff turnover causes stress for the remaining staff, administrators, the community, and most importantly the students. District and campus administrators cannot effectively develop a positive learning culture with continual changes in staff or the presence of multiple short-term and longterm substitutes. After years of study, best practices for supporting and onboarding new teachers have emerged from research. Bettini et al. (2015) found common practices, which include assigning mentors to new teachers, providing instructional coaching, and providing support through professional development. While these practices have shown to have positive influence on new teachers, they do not typically address the extra responsibilities that come with teaching students with disabilities (Jones et al., 2013). In addition to duties assigned to all teachers, special education teachers are required to create and implement Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and accommodations, attend and maintain the required documentation for Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meetings, and provide and support general education teachers with behavioral and academic interventions, as well as monitor implementation of required services in the student’s IEP (Duffy & Forgan, 2005). These additional duties typically are assigned without the direct support of campus or district oversight, which leaves new special education teachers feeling overwhelmed. Research has found that a special education teacher’s decision to remain in the profession heavily surrounds their experiences in schools (Jones et al., 2013). Relationships with peers, principal leadership, school climate, and working conditions were all listed as important in Jones’s research. Increased accountability for teachers and education reform that promotes inclusive classroom environments increases the need for quality collaboration between general education and special education teachers to occur (Robinson & Buly, 2007).
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