Professional burnout and compassion fatigue among early childhood special education teachers

This study explored stress and coping as related to the phenomena of professional burnout, compassion fatigue, and resiliency in early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers. Interviews and observations were conducted with four ECSE teachers and the data were analyzed to identify stressors, coping strategies, and resiliency outcomes. First, ECSE teachers experienced stressors from teaming, working with families who face challenges, and carrying high caseloads and paperwork demands. Second, ECSE teachers coped in a variety of ways with the stress they experienced. It was difficult to attribute the use of specific coping strategies directly to less burnout and compassion fatigue for these ECSE teachers. However, teachers did experience varying degrees of personal and professional job satisfaction due to their ability to form supportive relationships with colleagues, their dependence on familiar routines, their practice of restricting boundaries with families, and their ability to balance their personal and work lives. Finally, implications for further research, policy, and practice are presented