ERIC Number: EJ1466100
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-May
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0033-3085
EISSN: EISSN-1520-6807
Available Date: 2025-01-31
"We're Not Giving Up" Special Education Teacher's Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Psychology in the Schools, v62 n5 p1574-1582 2025
This study investigated special education teachers' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through qualitative, semi-structured interviews, 15 educators shared detailed reports of how efforts to reach students strained their mental health. They felt stressed due to frequently changing expectations and pressure to comply with federal special education regulations. The result was burnout and emotional exhaustion. Participants correctly predicted that students would develop behavioral and emotional problems post-pandemic, and called for intensifying school-based mental health services. The mental health challenges that they described resulted in teacher attrition and nationwide concerns about worsening student behavior problems.
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, Special Education Teachers, Teacher Persistence, Teaching Experience, Teacher Student Relationship, Mental Health, Stress Variables, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Burnout, Emotional Response, Psychological Patterns, Federal Regulation, Compliance (Legal), Teacher Role, Educational Environment, Student Behavior, Behavior Problems, Classroom Environment, In Person Learning
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Special Education Program, Indiana University School of Education, Bloomington, Indiana, USA; 2School Psychology Program, Indiana University School of Education, Bloomington, Indiana, USA; 3Monroe County Community School Corporation, Bloomington, Indiana, USA