Burnout and Intent to Leave as Predictors of Retention for Special Educators Serving Students With Emotional-Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

Researchers addressing special education teacher (SET) stress, burnout, and teacher shortage have traditionally used intent to stay or leave the profession as a proxy for measuring attrition and retention, given the time and resources needed to track retention longitudinally. Recent research has revealed small-to-moderate associations between intent and SET attrition; however, measurement of intent to stay/leave is nascent and often relies on a single-item response. The current study is designed to examine longitudinal associations between burnout, intent to leave (three-item measure), and retention 4 years later for 230 U.S. SETs serving students with emotional-behavioral disorders (EBD). Retention was examined at the school level, district level, and profession level. Structural equation modeling revealed significant direct effects between depersonalization—a dimension of burnout—and retention as well as indirect effects on retention by burnout via intent. We provide limitations and next steps for research and practice.