Special education teachers’ perspectives on compassion fatigue : a qualitative single case study of its impact on career decisions.

The need for highly qualified teachers with specialized training, such as special education, continues to increase in the United States. An alarming number of special education teachers consider leaving the profession due to their experience with compassion fatigue, a form of emotional stress, and overwhelming work demands (Hoffman et al., 2007). To address the concern of special education teachers’ attrition, Hoffman et al. (2007) recommended further study of the effects of compassion fatigue on special education teachers. The purpose of this qualitative single case study of four special education teachers with experiences of compassion fatigue from teaching students with special needs and trauma was to determine if their experiences played a role in their career decisions. This study, guided by the compassion fatigue theoretical framework (Figley, 1995), used data from semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires to gather descriptions of special educators’ lived experiences of teaching and supporting students with special needs and trauma that may have contributed to their experiences of compassion fatigue. The study identified three key findings regarding special education teachers’ experiences of compassion fatigue and its impact on their career decisions. First, chronic exposure to students’ trauma manifestations, such as behavioral outbursts and learning difficulties, significantly contributes to teachers’ compassion fatigue. Second, despite their compassion fatigue experiences, teachers consistently demonstrate deep empathy by creating emotionally safe spaces and fostering trusting relationships with their students. Third, the emotional demands of supporting traumatized students lead to residual compassion stress, negatively affecting teachers’ well-being and social lives, which often causes them to question whether to stay in or leave the special education profession. The data and findings from this study benefit relevant actors, such as special education students and teachers, school district leaders, and school site administrators, by shaping better special education teacher experiences, which may help lower special education teacher attrition.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Cervantes, Kristina D., 1978-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Steketee, Anne.

• Special education teachers.
• Student trauma experience.
• Compassion fatigue.
• Teacher attrition.
• Single case study.
• Qualitative research.
• Burnout.
• Secondary trauma.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13977

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13977