Understanding burnout among special education teachers: an exploratory structural equation model in a burnout high risk profession

PurposeThe present study was intended to investigate the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy, sentiments and concerns toward disability and burnout in pre-service special education teachers.Design/methodology/approachThree hundred seventy-two special education teachers participated in the study. Participants were administered the following self-reports: Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices, Sentiments and Concerns Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to examine the study's hypotheses.FindingsSEM analysis showed the role of teachers' concerns as a mediator for teacher efficacy in inclusive practices for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Furthermore, the findings showed a significant association between teacher efficacy in inclusive practices, sentiments and concerns and each dimension of burnout. In addition, significant relations between teachers' concerns, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were clear.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study suggest the importance of promoting special education teachers' self-efficacy to change negative attitudes and prevent burnout.Originality/valueThis study extends the current literature on special education teachers and provides new information on the relationship between self-efficacy, attitudes and burnout.