Variables Related to Stress and Burnout in Special Education Teacher Trainees and First-Year Teachers

Abstract

This article reports on role, stress, and burnout problems experienced by 379 special education teacher trainees and 36 first-year teachers. Cor-relational analyses were used to determine the degree to which these were related to personal, academic, and organizational variables. Regression analyses were employed to establish how and to what degree these variables, in combination, acted as significant predictors of trainee and inexperienced teacher stress and burnout. Finally, analysis of variance was used to identify significant differences between and among three levels of traineeship and one of teaching, with respect to role, stress, and burnout problems in special education classrooms. Results indicated that the majority of such problems were significantly interrelated, that not all of the background variables predicted significant stress and burnout levels, and that different levels of role, stress, and burnout problems were observed in respondents at various stages of professional development.