Coping strategies and burnout in staff working with students with special educational needs and disabilities

Teaching and Teacher Education 87 (2020) 102937

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Coping strategies and burnout in staff working with students with special educational needs and disabilities Bonnie Brittle Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom

h i g h l i g h t s
SEND staff reported notable levels of burnout.
Emotional coping was a significant predictor of burnout.
Avoidance coping was a risk factor for disengagement.
Rational coping was a protective factor for disengagement.

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 30 December 2018 Received in revised form 12 September 2019 Accepted 20 September 2019 Available online xxx

Research on special educator burnout has predominantly focused on demographic, environmental and situational factors, with few studies exploring individual characteristics. This cross-sectional self-report study focused on coping strategies as predictors of burnout among Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) staff. The survey results from 169 participants showed that emotional coping predicted greater levels of burnout. In addition, avoidance coping predicted higher levels of disengagement, whereas rational coping predicted lower levels of disengagement. These results emphasize the importance of examining individual characteristics in SEND staff burnout. This would have implications for monitoring and addressing the psychological wellbeing of SEND staff. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Coping Burnout Teaching Special education

1. Introduction Teaching in a school has been identified as a highly stressful occupation and unsurprisingly a vast amount of the literature has been dedicated to this topic (Mearns & Cain, 2003). Research has found that high levels of stress can lead to burnout when teachers perceive the occupational demands as exceeding their resources and abilities to cope (Hakanen, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2006; Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001). Maslach and Leiter (1997) defined burnout as “an erosion of engagement that what started out important, meaningful and challenging work becomes unpleasant, unfulfilling and meaningless” (as cited in Maslach et al., 2001, p. 416). Burnout is characterised by high levels of exhaustion and disengagement (Demerouti, Mostert, & Bakker, 2010; Maslach, 2003). Exhaustion is a consequence of any intensive physical, cognitive or affective strain and disengagement involves

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experiencing negative attitudes towards one’s work and distancing oneself from the work object or content (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). There are many consequences of teacher burnout as fatigue can lead to ineffectiveness, withdrawal from student-teacher relationships and feelings of incompetence which inadvertently causes the class and school to suffer (Chang, 2009). Burnout has also been associated with many negative teacher health outcomes (Brunsting, Sreckovic, & Lane, 2014). Kim, Youngs, and Frank (2017) found that organisational exposure and social network exposure to burnout positively correlated with novice teachers burnout levels. Higher burnout levels among colleagues increased the likelihood of novice teachers experiencing higher levels of burnout. There are consequences for the teacher workforce with burnout resulting in teacher shortages. In the UK, it has been found that more teachers leave the profession than stay until retirement (Macdonald, 1999). In addition to causing a staffing problem, this leads to degraded quality of teaching due to a high turnover of staff (Chang, 2009). The different components of burnout have been found to have

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B. Brittle / Teaching and Teacher Education 87 (2020) 102937

direct and indirect effects on the individualized education program outcomes of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Wong, Ruble, Yu and McGraw (2017) found personal accomplishment was directly related to student outcomes and exhaustion and depersonalisation were indirectly related to student outcomes through teaching quality and student engagement. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanisms behind burnout to try and alleviate the levels experienced, as it does not only affect individual teachers but negatively impacts students and the teaching profession (Engelbrecht, Oswald, Swart, & Eloff, 2003). Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) teachers have been recognised as most prone to high stress and burnout (Chang, 2009), with these teachers reporting higher levels of exhaustion and depersonalisation than mainstream teachers (Kucuksuleymanoglu, 2011). This is problematic as 39% of teachers transferring from special to general education cited burnout as the cause of their transfer (Billingsley & Cross, 1991). Research has identified that special and mainstream teachers experience different types of stressors (Williams & Gersch, 2004). Mainstream teachers are more stressed by a lack of time, whereas teachers in special education are stressed by a lack of resources (Williams & Gersch, 2004). Furthermore, inadequate resources in mainstream schools have been attributed to stress in teachers supporting students with SEND (Engelbrecht, Forlin, Eloff, & Swart, 2001). There are also more significant emotional demands on teachers in comparison to other professions (Chang, 2009) with inclusion of a student with SEND introducing additional demands (Engelbrecht et al., 2003). In interviews conducted by Trendall (1989) teachers in special schools reported experiencing difficulties in forgetting student’s problems after work and a lack of support, with teachers expressing that they had nobody they could confide in. However, there has been a relatively small amount of attention paid to SEND staff in comparison to general educators. Therefore, there is a need to examine SEND staff as a distinct population in order to understand burnout in those working in educational settings. 1.1. Burnout in special educational needs and disabilities staff The literature on SEND staff has identified a range of factors that are associated with the onset of burnout, with the vast majority of research focusing on demographic, environmental and situational factors (Brunsting et al., 2014). It has been reported that teacher age, years of experience, higher levels of education and being female negatively correlates with burnout (Crane & Iwanicki, 1986; Embich, 2001; Zabel & Zabel, 1983). In regard to classroom level factors, it has been found that teachers of older students (Frank & McKenzie, 1993) and students with emotional disturbances, rather than intellectual disabilities (Banks & Necco, 1990), experienced higher levels of burnout. Interestingly, it has been found that, as the number of students with ASD in a class increases, teacher burnout level decreases (Coman et al., 2013). Whereas, Irvin, Hume, Boyd, McBee, and Odom (2013) found as the number of adult members of staff in a class increases so do levels of burnout. In addition to these factors, a number of school level variables have also been identified as contributing to burnout. These include role conflict, role ambiguity and levels of support (Brunsting et al., 2014). Role ambiguity refers to situations where job descriptions and expectations are vague and role conflict refers to situations where it is unreasonable to expect an individual to be able manage their workload (Brunsting et al., 2014). Both role ambiguity and role conflict predicted higher levels of burnout (Crane & Iwanicki, 1986). A recent study by Garwood, Werts, Varghese, and Gosey (2018) used a mixed-methods approach to explore the effects of school level variables on rural special educator teacher burnout. They found that role conflict was a significant predictor of emotional

exhaustion and role ambiguity was a significant predictor of personal accomplishment. A high level of self-advocacy, positive student relationships and supportive relationships with colleagues and administrators were also noted as potential buffers for burnout. This aligns with an earlier finding that teachers who receive support from headteachers, fellow teachers and parents of students experience less burnout (Zabel & Zabel, 2002). While the relationship between situational factors and burnout has been demonstrated, it is important to note that these factors do not always result in burnout (Mearns & Cain, 2003). Therefore, individual characteristics that may place staff at higher risk need to be understood, yet few studies have been conducted. Biglan, Layton, Jones, Hawkins and Rusby (2011) found that experiential avoidance, the tendency to avoid unpleasant thoughts and feelings, positively correlated with burnout in early childhood special educators, whereas valued living and mindfulness negatively correlated with burnout. This finding is supported by Donahoo, Siegrist and Garrett-Wright (2018) pilot study that found a significant decrease in stress levels in special educators participating in a mindfulness intervention. Teachers’ happiness and job satisfaction among special education teachers at Italian preschools and primary schools have also been reported to negatively predict personal, student-related and work-related burnout (De Stasio, Fiorilli, Benevene, Uusitalo-Malmivaara, & Chiacchio, 2017). Selfefficiency and burnout has been explored by Ruble, Usher, and McGrew (2011), who report mixed findings. They found that burnout levels among teachers of students with ASD decreased with high levels of self-efficacy in regard to classroom management. However they found no relationship between burnout and self-efficacy in regard to obtaining support from fellow teachers. The role of coping strategies as potential buffers for burnout has been identified as an area in need of additional research (Brunsting et al., 2014; Hurt, Grist, Malesky, & Mccord, 2013). It can also be seen that the literature heavily focuses on the experiences of special education teachers, however it is important to note that paraeducators are vital in the delivery of special education (French, 1998). Paraeducators are also referred to as paraprofessionals, aides or teaching assistants within the literature. The roles of paraeducators have been increased along with the emergence of inclusive education. Paraeducators are now expected to provide support with instruction, tutoring and managing student behaviour, in addition to many other tasks that overlap with the classroom teacher’s responsibilities (Downing, Ryndak, & Clark, 2000). Webster and Blatchford (2015) observed that students with a ‘statement’ setting out their SEND and the additional provision they require to meet their needs were almost constantly accompanied by a teaching assistant. However, the literature on paraeducators and burnout is lacking. Shyman (2010) conducted a preliminary study that explored one of the components of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion, among special education paraeducators. It was found that more than 70% of the sample reported notably high levels of emotional exhaustion. Role conflict, supervisor support, sense of efficacy and emotional demand were found to be significant predictors of emotional exhaustion, reflecting findings on general teachers. Therefore, this study will examine the effect of different coping strategies on the levels of burnout amongst special education teachers, paraeducators and support staff. 1.2. Coping Coping has been defined as “an individual’s efforts to master demands (conditions of harm, threat or challenge) that are appraised (or perceived) as exceeding or taxing his or her resources” (Monat & Lazarus, 1991, p. 5). Coping styles are considered

B. Brittle / Teaching and Teacher Education 87 (2020) 102937

to be important in determining how individuals respond to stressful events (Grennan & Woodhams, 2007). Pollard and Kennedy (2007) found that coping strategies were relatively stable, suggesting that there is a dispositional element to coping. Many different classifications of coping strategies have been identified in the literature (see de Ridder, 1997, for an overview). Roger, Jarvis and Najarian (1993) categorise coping strategies into two distinct groups; adaptive and maladaptive styles. Adaptive coping strategies include rational and detached coping, whereas maladaptive coping strategies include emotional and avoidance coping (Roger, Jarvis, & Najarian, 1993). In the literature, the term rational coping is used synonymously with the terms ‘task-oriented coping’ and ‘problem-focused coping’ (Grennan & Woodhams, 2007; Roger et al., 1993). This type of coping involves attempting to alter the circumstances of a stressful situation through problem-solving behaviours (Grennan & Woodhams, 2007). This contrasts with detached coping which involves psychologically distancing oneself from a stressful event and disengaging from the associated emotions (Grennan & Woodhams, 2007). Detachment from a stressful event and rational coping is more beneficial to individuals than avoidant or emotional coping (Freeman et al., 2005). Adaptive coping styles are associated with increased well-being and decreased psychological distress (Wilkinson, Walford, & Espnes, 2000). Wilkerson (2009) examined the effects of coping on burnout among professional school counsellors in the U.S. Task-orientated coping was found to protect individuals from low levels of personal accomplishment but had no effect on emotional exhaustion or depersonalisation. Emotional and avoidance coping styles have been found to have opposing effects on psychological health with these styles being associated with decreased well-being and increased psychological distress (Wilkinson et al., 2000). Emotional coping involves attempting to regulate emotional distress in order to manage the stressful situation, and avoidance coping refers to efforts to avoid or ignore a problem or stressor by withdrawing from situation (Grennan & Woodhams, 2007). These maladaptive coping styles are widely associated with poor psychological health, therefore Wilkinson et al. (2000) argue that they should not be considered coping strategies but instead risk factors for poor psychological health outcomes. Emotional coping has been found to predict anxiety, depression and low self-esteem (Gullone, Jones, & Cummins, 2000). Wilkerson (2009) also found that emotioncoping appeared to result in lower levels of personal accomplishment but had no effect on emotional exhaustion or depersonalisation. Similarly, avoidance coping is related to increased anxiety, depression, ventilating emotions and acting out (Wilkinson et al., 2000). It has been found that mainstream teachers of students with ASD use fewer effective problem-solving and social supportseeking coping strategies and cannot effectively manage stress (Cappe, Bolduc, Poirier, Popa-Roch, & Boujut, 2017). A recent study by Boujut, Popa-Roch, Palomares, Dean, and Cappe (2017) explored the mediating role of coping strategies and perceived stress in the relationship between burnout and self-efficiency in teachers of ASD. Their results suggest that the mediating effects of emotionfocused coping strategies were significant. Teachers with low levels of self-efficacy employed more emotion-focused coping strategies which predicted higher burnout in all of its dimensions. The use of this maladaptive coping strategy lead to higher depersonalisation and emotional exhaustion, and lower personal accomplishment. 1.3. This study This study had two main purposes. First, there is a relatively

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small amount of research on burnout in SEND staff, in comparison to general teachers. This study aims to focus on SEND staff as a distinct population to extend our understanding of the protective and risk factors associated with burnout. It expands on previous literature by incorporating paraeducators and support staff as well as teachers working with students experiencing SEND in an educational setting. Second, this study aims to examine the role individual characteristics play in predicting burnout. Therefore, this cross-sectional study examined the effect of different coping strategies on the levels of burnout amongst SEND staff, an area that has been largely overlooked. This research followed a similar methodology to previous studies, using a self-report questionnaire to measure the variables. Burnout was measured using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (Demerouti, Bakker, Vardakou, & Kantas, 2003) which has two dimensions: disengagement and exhaustion. Coping strategies were measured using the Coping Styles Questionnaire that has four components: rational, detached, emotional and avoidance coping (Roger et al., 1993). Given the previous research by Wilkinson et al. (2000) and Boujut et al. (2017), inspection of a sample of special education teachers, paraeducators and support staff should reveal: H1. negative correlations disengagement;

between

rational

coping

and

H2. negative exhaustion;

correlations

between

rational

coping

and

H3. negative correlations disengagement;

between

detached

coping

and

H4. negative exhaustion;

between

detached

coping

and

correlations

H5. positive correlations disengagement;

between

emotional

coping

and

H6. positive exhaustion;

correlations

between

emotional

coping

and

H7. positive correlations disengagement;

between

avoidance

coping

and

H8. positive exhaustion.

between

avoidance

coping

and

correlations

2. Methodology 2.1. Design This quantitative study used a within-participant design utilising a self-administered survey. This design consisted of one main predictor variable coping strategies, which has four subscales; rational, detached, emotional and avoidance coping. The outcome variable of burnout has two dimensions; exhaustion and disengagement. Each variable was measured through a set of pre-coded, close-ended questions. 2.2. Participants 169 participants (162 females and 7 males) completed the questionnaire. Participation was limited to individuals currently working in an educational setting with students with any type of emerging or identified special educational needs and disabilities in England and Wales. Participants were not restricted to teachers but also included paraeducators and support workers. The role of a SEND specialist support worker is to support educational settings

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to provide high quality education to students with emerging or identified SEND. Teachers constituted 31.5%, while 45.8% were teacher assistants, 10.7% were special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs), 9.5% were support workers and 2.4% worked in other areas. The reported number of hours worked per week ranged from 7 to 85 h, with a mean of 36.32 (SD ¼ 13.93). 20.2% of participants reported working over the recommended 48 h a week (Gov.uk., undated), with 10.7% of the sample reported working 60 or more hours. The age of participants ranged from 20 to 66 years, with a mean of 40.91 (SD ¼ 10.41) and the participants experience in special education ranged from 0 to 45 years, with a mean of 9.47 (SD ¼ 7.80). The highest level of qualification held also varied with 14.3% having GCSEs, 6.5% having A-levels, 23.2% having a vocational or professional qualification, 39.3% having a bachelor degree, and 16.7% having a master degree. The majority of the sample (69.0%) had also received specialist training. Targeted educational settings included both mainstream and special schools. In this study, 39.6% of participants worked in special schools, 36.7% in mainstream schools and 23.1% in mainstream schools with a specialist unit. The remaining 0.6% consisted of a local authority area SENCO. Within these educational settings 3.6% worked in a pre-school, 58.6% worked in a primary school, 16.0% worked in a secondary school, 5.3% worked in sixth form college (further education for 16- to 19-year-olds), 16.0% worked in a school of all ages and 0.6% was not based in a setting. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling due to the limited and specialised nature of the population of interest. Over 40 mainstream and special schools in England and Wales were contacted by email. They were provided with information about the study and asked to share a recruitment poster with members of staff working with students experiencing SEND. In addition, the recruitment poster was shared on numerous UK SEN teacher advice and support groups on Facebook. Nearly half (49.7%) of responding participants worked in London and the remainder of the sample was distributed across England and Wales.

then received a score for both disengagement and exhaustion. The possible scores of each subscale range from eight to 32. This scale presented sufficient alpha coefficients of 0.80 for exhaustion and 0.72 for disengagement. The Coping Styles Questionnaire measured coping strategies (Roger et al., 1993). It is a widely used 60 item self-report measure consisting of four subscales; rational, detached, emotional and avoidance coping. Participants were asked to describe how they typically react to stress by rating each item on a four-point Likert scale, ranging from “Always” to “Never” (where Always ¼ 3, and Never ¼ 0). Example items from each subscale can be seen in Table 1. Participants received a score for each subscale. The possible total scores are 48 for rational and emotional coping, 45 for detached coping and 39 for avoidance coping. Satisfactory alpha coefficients were obtained for each of the subscales; detached coping 0.83, rational coping 0.87, emotional coping 0.86, and avoidance coping 0.67. 2.4. Procedure Participants were invited to complete the online questionnaire by email or through the social networking site Facebook. Emails were sent to over 40 mainstream and special schools in England and Wales and Facebook posts were shared by the researcher on her personal page and on several SEN staff support groups. It was advised that the questionnaire would take approximately 15 min to complete. Respondents were directed via a link to BOS. This page included the participant information sheet and consent form, as well as the questionnaire itself. The questionnaire consisted of three main sections; demographics coping and burnout, with each section providing instructions on how to answer the questions. The data was collected by BOS and exported to SPSS for analysis. The dataset analysed consisted of scale totals for each variable. The correlation matrix of all variables was examined and multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the amount of variance in disengagement and exhaustion levels that were accounted for by the different coping strategies.

2.3. Apparatus and materials 2.5. Ethical considerations The questionnaire was presented online using Bristol Online Surveys (BOS). It comprised of the participant information sheet, the informed consent form, a set of demographic questions, two scales and a debrief page. The debrief page provided participants with a completion receipt and the researcher’s email address. Participants were also signposted to consult their GP if they were concerned about their wellbeing at work. A range of demographic variables were collected from participants at the beginning of the questionnaire. The first question ensured participants met the eligibility criteria and asked whether they currently worked with students experiencing SEND in an educational setting. Participants who selected ‘no’ were redirected to the end of the survey. The following demographic variables collected from eligible participants were; job title, years’ experience, highest level of qualification, specialist training received, age and gender. Participants were also asked to report their local education authority, the type of educational setting they worked in and the school type. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (Demerouti et al., 2003) was used to measure burnout. It is a 16 item self-report measure consisting of two subscales; disengagement and exhaustion. Both disengagement and exhaustion have four positively worded items and four negatively worded items. Table 1 provides an example item for each subscale. Participants responded on a four-point Likert scale ranging from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree” (where Strongly Agree ¼ 1, and Strongly Disagree ¼ 4). Participants

This study adhered to the British Psychological Society’s (2014) ‘Code of Human Research Ethics’ and was approved by Anon. University’s Ethics Approvals (Human Participants) Sub-Committee. It ensured, through the participant information sheet that all participants were aware of the purpose of the study, their part in the study and how their data would be used. This study complied with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation requirements when processing personal data by keeping all answers confidential, storing all data in a secure location and conducting an anonymised analysis. They were also told their rights as participants and gave their informed consent freely. Participants could withdraw from the study for up to one week after completing the questionnaire, with their data being identifiable to the researcher only through their unique completion receipt number. The risk of psychological distress that may have been encountered through potentially sensitive questions was addressed by reminding participants that they had the right to withdraw and did not need to answer every question. Participants were also signposted to consult their GP if they were concerned about their wellbeing at work at the end of the questionnaire. 3. Results The measured variables were analysed and the minimum values, maximum values, means and standard deviations are

B. Brittle / Teaching and Teacher Education 87 (2020) 102937

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Table 1 Example items relating to the scales of the measured variables. Variables

Example items

Burnout

I find my work to be a positive challenge. Usually, I can manage the amount of my work well. Take action to change things. Just take nothing personally. Become miserable or depressed. Try to forget the whole thing.

Disengagement Exhaustion Rational Detached Emotional Avoidance

Coping Styles

presented in Table 2. The results showed higher scores for exhaustion than disengagement, with participants’ mean exhaustion scores being around the middle mark of the scale. The coping styles subscales displayed a range of scores. The most frequently used coping style was shown to be rational coping, followed by detached coping and then emotional coping. Avoidance coping was the least frequently used coping style. The variations in scores between job responsibilities were also analysed and the means are presented in Table 3. 3.1. Pre-tests Multiple linear regression analysis was used to develop a model for predicting burnout amongst SEND staff from their coping strategies. Before conducting the main analysis it was necessary to conduct a number of pre-tests to see whether the data fit the assumptions of a multiple regression. One assumption is that the data is unaffected by outliers. Tabachnick and Fidell (1996) state that extreme cases should be transformed, rescored or deleted as they have too much impact on the regression. In the data four univariate outliers were identified. To reduce the influence of these outliers the scores were changed using winsorization (Dixon, 1960; Hoo, Tvarlapati, Piovoso, & Hajare, 2002). Another assumption is that the data is normally distributed. Disengagement and emotional coping were identified as not normally distributed by conducting Kolmogorov-Smirnov and ShapiroWilk tests of normality. However, the histograms produced showed that the distribution of these variables looked approximately normal. Transformations are only recommended when the skew is moderate to severe and as the skew of these variables was only mild it was not necessary to transform the data (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). The pre-tests also indicated that the multicollinearity and singularity assumption had been met, as all intercorrelations among the independent variables were not above 0.8 (see Table 3). Thus indicating that the prediction model is stable. 3.2. Main analysis Pearson correlations among the measured variables were calculated and can be seen in Table 3. Disengagement and exhaustion significantly correlated with all of the independent variables (p < .01). A moderate positive relationship was found Table 2 The minimum value, maximum value, mean and standard deviation of the measured variables.

Burnout Coping Styles

Disengagement Exhaustion Rational Detached Emotional Avoidance

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

SD

9.00 9.00 9.00 4.00 1.00 2.00

27.00 30.00 47.00 39.00 35.00 27.00

16.06 20.70 29.74 19.25 15.60 12.63

3.46 3.61 6.92 6.09 7.98 4.62

between the two dependent variables and emotional coping. There was also a weak positive relationship between the two independent variables and avoidance coping. Whereas, a moderate negative relationship was found between disengagement and rational coping. There was also a weak negative relationship between the two independent variables and detached coping, as well as between exhaustion and rational coping. As all of these correlations were significant, all variables were included in the subsequent regression analysis. Among the independent variables, a strong positive relationship was found between rational coping and detached coping. A moderate positive relationship was found between emotional coping and avoidance coping. Whereas, emotional coping and both rational coping and detached coping showed a weak negative relationship. The only measures that were not significantly correlated were rational coping and detached coping with avoidance coping. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to develop a model for predicting burnout amongst SEND staff from their coping strategies. As burnout has two dimensions; exhaustion and disengagement, two multiple regressions were conducted. A multiple linear regression was calculated to predict disengagement based on rational, detached, emotional and avoidance coping. A significant regression equation was found, (F(4,164) ¼ 20.245, p < .000), with R ¼ 0.575, R2 ¼ 0.331 and R2 adjusted ¼ 0.314. Altogether 31.4% of variability in disengagement levels was predicted by scores on all four independent variables. Three independent variables contributed significantly to the prediction of disengagement. These were, with standardised beta coefficients: rational coping (0.386), emotional coping (0.226) and avoidance coping (0.246). Whereas, detached coping (0.056) was not a significant predictor of disengagement (p > .05). A multiple linear regression was also calculated to predict exhaustion based on rational, detached, emotional and avoidance coping. A significant regression equation was found (F(4,164) ¼ 28.741, p < .000), with R ¼ 0.642, R2 ¼ 0.412 and R2 adjusted ¼ 0.398. Altogether 39.8% of variability in exhaustion levels was predicted by scores on all four independent variables. However, only emotional coping was a significant predictor of exhaustion. Emotional coping had a standardised beta coefficient of 0.616. The other independent variables did not significantly predict exhaustion (p > .05). These were, with standardised beta coefficients: rational coping (0.135), detached coping (0.011) and avoidance coping (0.45). 4. Discussion The results of this study demonstrate the importance of understanding burnout in SEND staff. Notable levels of disengagement (M ¼ 16.06, SD ¼ 3.46) and exhaustion (M ¼ 20.70, SD ¼ 3.61) were reported by the SEND staff in this sample, indicating that these participants were experiencing burnout. This finding is consistent with the existing literature that reports high levels of burnout in SEND teachers (Chang, 2009) and paraeducators

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B. Brittle / Teaching and Teacher Education 87 (2020) 102937

Table 3 The mean scores of the measured variables by job responsibility.

Disengagement Exhaustion Rational Detached Emotional Avoidance

Teachers (N ¼ 53)

Teacher Assistants (N ¼ 77)

SENCOs (N ¼ 18)

Support Workers (N ¼ 16)

Other (N ¼ 4)

15.26 21.38 29.68 19.32 15.89 12.53

17.05 20.45 29.08 18.90 15.86 13.29

15.56 22.00 29.89 18.78 16.89 11.67

14.63 18.81 31.50 20.06 13.06 11.81

15.75 17.75 35.25 24.75 9.25 8.25

beneficial to individuals and is associated with decreased psychological distress.

Table 4 Correlations of the measured variables.

Exhaustion Rational Detached Emotional Avoidance

Disengagement

Exhaustion

Rational

Detached

Emotional

.539** .403** .277** .451** .361**

.307** .295** .627** .282**

.728** .289** .030

.331** .091

.535**

**Correlation is significant at the 0.001 level (2-tailed).

(Shyman, 2010). These results also expanded on the previous literature by combining the study of SEND teachers, paraeducators and support staff. However, the aim of this study was not to explore whether any differences existed between these groups. Future research should seek to examine this possibility. This study also extended our knowledge on individual characteristics in the study of SEND staff burnout. The results found that although both disengagement and exhaustion significantly correlated with all of the independent variables included in the analysis, supporting the hypotheses, not all of them were significant predictors in the regression. The overall model of the first multiple regression examining the predictors of disengagement was significant, this was driven by rational coping, emotional coping and avoidance coping. These three variables each predicted a significant amount of unique variance. Rational coping emerged as a negative predictor, whereas emotional and avoidance coping emerged as positive predictors of disengagement, supporting H1, H5 and H7. However, there was no evidence that detached coping was a significant predictors of disengagement, thus H3 was rejected. The overall model of the second multiple regression examining exhaustion was also significant, with only emotional coping predicting a significant amount of unique variance. Emotional coping was a positive predictor of exhaustion, lending support to H6. However, there was no evidence that rational, detached and avoidance coping were significant predictors of exhaustion. This means H2, H4 and H8 were rejected. In support of the literature (Wilkinson et al., 2000), the findings suggest that different coping strategies result in different psychological health outcomes. Maladaptive coping strategies, specifically emotional and avoidance coping, was found to predict higher levels of disengagement. Emotional coping was also found to predict higher levels of exhaustion, supporting Boujut et al.’s (2017) findings. However, these results conflicts with the study by Wilkerson (2009) that found emotion-coping had no effect on depersonalisation and exhaustion, but confirms research that suggests maladaptive coping strategies are risk factors for poor psychological health (Wilkinson et al., 2000). Whereas adaptive coping strategies, namely rational coping, was found to predict lower levels of disengagement, which conflicts with Wilkerson (2009) finding that task-orientated coping has no effect on depersonalisation. However, this finding does provide support for Freeman et al. (2005) and Wilkinson et al. (2000) conclusions that rational coping is

4.1. Limitations of this study Several limitations of this study may be identified. Some of these limitations may have had an effect on the validity of the findings. These limitations will now be discussed. The social survey design is the main weakness of this study. Selfreport measures rely on the participant providing an honest and accurate account. It is not possible to identify self-report response biases such as social desirability bias and reference bias within the data, therefore the integrity of the measured variables may be questioned. Some of the questions included in the survey also required participants to think retrospectively which may have led to some inaccuracies in their accounts. Furthermore, the survey data was collected on a single occasion meaning it is difficult to determine whether the SEND staff in this sample were actually experiencing burnout or were just experiencing “feelings” of disengagement and exhaustion (Chang, 2009). Future studies should utilise different methods, such as observations and longitudinal research, to overcome these limitations. However, as this study followed a similar methodology to previous research, comparisons between studies can be made. Another weakness of this study is the possibility that some elements of the independent variables may have been captured within the measurement of the other independent variables. Multicollinearity is an issue when the intercorrelations among the independent variables are above 0.8, however this was not the case. Therefore, this study analysed the independent variables as separate variables and did not consider the interaction between them. Although there was no multicollinearity, there was high correlations among some of the independent variables. High correlations would reduce the power of the multiple regression analyses. If variables are highly correlated it reduces the likelihood that each variable would explain unique variance. Therefore, the intercorrelations among the variables may have had an effect on the results of this study. Further research that takes this consideration into account is recommended. Furthermore, demographic and environmental factors, such age, gender, education and experience, student’s age, disability and the ratio of staff to students, have been identified in the literature as influencing the prevalence of burnout (Brunsting et al., 2014). There may have also been subtle differences between the professional subgroups within this sample, however due to the small sample size of the subgroups a comparative analysis was not conducted. Exploring these factors could have provided an alternative explanation for the distribution of burnout among the sample. Future studies must consider these potential confounding variables when examining the relationship between burnout and coping strategies in SEND staff.

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4.2. Suggestions for future research

4.3. Implications of findings

This study contributed to an area of research that has been largely overlooked and has provided many opportunities for future research. Further studies are needed to refine and elaborate on these findings. Some suggestions have already been mentioned, however these points will now be expanded upon. In addition, the suggested direction for future research in the area of SEND staff burnout will be outlined. The limitations discussed have highlighted areas in need of development. It is recommended that future research explores the relationship of potential confounding variables, specifically the average working hours of SEND staff. Contrary to expectations, 20.2% of this sample reported working over the recommended 48 h a week (Gov.uk., undated). It is highly plausible that these working conditions may have contributed to the high levels of burnout experienced by this sample. It would also be interesting to find out if this sample’s working hours is representative of the UK population of SEND staff, as this would serve to indicate whether this is a widespread or isolated issue. The issues with the methodology, raised in the limitations, could be used to formulate new research questions and this study could be extended in many different ways to provide more detailed explanations of SEND staff burnout. Future studies could ask comparative questions with regard to differences between special education teachers and paraeducators, SEND staff and general educational staff, as well as SEND staff working in special and mainstream schools. Longitudinal studies could identify new SEND staff with different coping strategies and follow their progress to see if there are any differences in their experiences of burnout and rates of leaving the profession. In addition, observational studies could be conducted to explore SEND staff’s experiences from a different perspective to explore how visible SEND staff burnout is within an educational setting. A shift in the focus of research looking at the broader environmental factors which result in burnout onto the identification of individual characteristics which protect SEND staff from burnout is also suggested. Previously only individual characteristics such as self-efficiency (Ruble et al., 2011), experiential avoidance, valued living and mindfulness (Biglan et al., 2011) have been explored. This study expanded on this literature by incorporating coping strategies into the study of SEND staff burnout. The significant findings of this study highlight the importance of understanding individual characteristics as protective or risk factors. The results suggest that coping strategies are important predictors of burnout. Therefore, it is believed that further research on individual characteristics would be beneficial. As emotional coping was the strongest predictor of burnout, future studies may seek to examine trait emotional intelligence and emotion regulation. In adopting this focus we will begin to address the question: how can we prevent burnout? Future research must then question: how can we effectively train and support SEND staff to prevent burnout? This will involve designing and empirically testing intervention programmes that target burnout. Cooley and Yovanoff (1996) conducted an intervention study with 92 special educators, targeting stressmanagement and peer-collaboration in a series of workshops. They reported a decrease in burnout among the participants in the treatment groups. The success of this research provides a useful starting point for future intervention studies targeting other predictors of burnout such as coping strategies. It will also be important to consider the role of burnout in SEND staff’s engagement and commitment to interventions.

The findings of this study are important as the implications of this research is far-reaching and could have positive impacts for SEND staff, their students and the profession itself. As there is a limited amount of research that investigates individual characteristics among SEND staff and how this contributes to burnout, gaining fundamental knowledge is vital. The results suggest that certain individual characteristics can be either protective or risk factors to burnout. Understanding these factors is essential to be able to provide effective support to those most prone to burnout. The knowledge gained from this study should be taken into account when developing support structures and training programmes designed to prevent burnout. These programmes should focus on strengthening adaptive coping strategies and reducing reliance on maladaptive coping strategies. It should be noted that emotional coping serves as a strong predictor for both disengagement and exhaustion. Therefore, special attention should be paid to devising alternative ways for SEND staff to handle difficulties they experience that do not focus on emotional coping. Targeting and improving coping strategies could be an effective way of addressing burnout and the associated negative consequences. By alleviating burnout, improving the psychological health and well-being of SEND staff, there will be less staff shortages, reduced turnovers of staff and improved student-teacher relationships. This will result in a higher quality of teaching overall. 5. Conclusion This study echoed previous research that suggests special educators are likely to experience burnout. This study is also one of the few to focus on individual characteristics as protective or risk factors of burnout among SEND staff. Coping strategies, namely emotional coping, were found to enhance predictions of burnout. It is suggested that future research on special educator burnout may benefit from adopting an alternative methodology and should include measures of individual characteristics, such as trait emotional intelligence and emotion regulation. With the increasing pressures on SEND funding (Tes, 2017), the problem of burnout in SEND staff will become even more significant. Developing our understanding of individual characteristics as protective or risk factors of burnout among SEND staff and applying this knowledge to strategies in the teaching and working environment may serve to avert a far greater crisis in education, which will threaten the life chances of society’s most vulnerable students. Funding This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Dr Carly Butler and Professor Charles Antaki for their helpful discussions. The author would also like to thank Dr Camilla Gilmore and Dr Nina Attridge for their assistance in statistics. References Banks, S. R., & Necco, E. G. (1990). The effects of special education category and type of training on job burnout in special education teachers. Teacher Education and Special Education, 13(3e4), 187e191. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 088840649001300309. Biglan, A., Layton, G. L., Jones, L. B., Hankins, M., & Rusby, J. C. (2011). The value of workshops on psychological flexibility for early childhood special education

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