A Curriculum of Experiences: Environmental Elements That Facilitate or Mediate Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Burnout among Educators

<p>This study is a qualitative phenomenological exploration of the curriculum of experiences with environmental elements that contribute to, or mitigate, stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout among educators that work with special education students. A convenience sample of 24 participants representing 10 different job types was drawn from four schools in a single school district adjacent to a large metropolitan area in the Southern United States. Focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and prompted journal writings provided data that was systematically analyzed through holistic and contextually sensitive inductive processes to reveal seven emergent themes. Findings include narratives telling the stories of: how participants found their way to the field and what it means to them to be an educator; sources and impact of stress, and related coping strategies consistent with symptoms of compassion fatigue, and burnout; elements that mitigate and balance stress; and advice for new teachers reflective of participants’ coping strategies. The study concludes with theoretical, practical, and future research implications.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Teacher Leadership for Learning

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• McManus, Scott David

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Reta Ugena Whitlock
• Dr. Corrie Davis
• Dr. Harriet Bessette

• special education teachers
• stress
• teaching environment
• teacher burnout
• compassion fatigue
• Special Education and Teaching

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/580

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu:etd-1584