This study explored why some special education teachers (SET) have chosen to remain in the profession despite the rapid implementation of change that they do not control or value. SETs have left the profession at alarming rates in the last decade and continue to do so, creating a knowledge and skills gap of experienced teachers to work with our struggling and, arguably, most challenging students. This mixed-methods study builds on the findings from a pilot study that examined adult resilience of SETs in Massachusetts. The pilot identified SETs, with various lengths of teaching experience, for whom the pressures and changes of the teaching profession have had little long-term or lasting detrimental effects. This explanatory-sequential design included a secondary analysis of pilot study quantitative data to determine the degree to which SETs perceive themselves as resilient, and correlations with demographic variables. It also explored, qualitatively, the factors that resilient special educators describe as shaping their remaining in the profession. Together, both phases were situated in a framework of Work as Meaning. Study participants were interviewed as to how they, understand the relationship between their own ability to be resilient and find renewed meaning in their work and its impact on their decision to remain in the profession. Several themes were identified including positive and negative experiences with administrator support and mitigators of burnout, such as mindfulness, that help resilient educators manage stress due to personal and professional demands. Keywords: adversity, resilience, retention, special education teacher, work as meaning. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]