The Role of Administrative Support in the Retention of Special Education Teachers

Administrative support towards special education teachers can be a determining factor towards their success in regards to teacher retention, motivation, and overall happiness. Special education teachers face large amounts of paperwork, meetings, and other administrative duties that they are expected to complete in addition to the various teaching duties required as well. The amount of work given can lead to feelings of stress, inadequacy, and most importantly, a lack of desire to continue working in the field of special education. The quantity and quality of administrative support towards special education teachers can play an important role in the retention, motivation, and overall happiness of a special education teacher. Their max caseload of students is often over the limit, and there is often a lack of clarity in administrative support in regards to everyday procedures, prep times, parental issues, and disciplinary support. An administrator can support a special education teacher by meeting these roles, and doing what they can to reduce the various administrative duties of special education teachers. A review of the literature revealed that special education teacher retention is a big issue in the field of education today, and that administrative support can be an important determining factor in their retention. For the purposes of this study, the researcher obtained permission to gather information from special education teachers using an interview format