{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140038"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140038","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Perceptions of Special Education Teachers of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities Regarding Key Factors Influencing Their Decisions to Persist in or Leave Their Positions","abstract":"The purpose of this study was to examine how special education teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities perceive key factors that influence their decisions to persist in or leave their position, school, or profession. The study employed a basic qualitative methodology. Demographic and background data were collected through questionnaires, and individual in-depth interviews were conducted to gather personal experiences and perspectives. This research explored factors related to administrator support, working conditions, and governing policies that shaped teachers' career decisions. Since the early 2000s, the Commonwealth of Virginia has consistently identified special education as a critical area of teacher shortage, with it ranking as the top shortage area since 2006. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) administrator support, (b) positive colleague relationships, (c) meaningful impact on students' lives, (d) workload, and (e) compensation and benefits. These themes revealed that while financial considerations played a role, relational and environmental factors, particularly administrative and peer support, were central to teachers' persistence. Findings suggest that retention strategies must address multiple, interconnected factors, including leadership responsiveness, collaborative work environments, recognition of teacher impact, manageable workloads, and competitive compensation. Recommendations for future research include expanding to larger and more diverse samples, incorporating administrator perspectives, and exploring retention factors by instructional setting and grade level.","abstract_html":"The purpose of this study was to examine how special education teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities perceive key factors that influence their decisions to persist in or leave their position, school, or profession. The study employed a basic qualitative methodology. Demographic and background data were collected through questionnaires, and individual in-depth interviews were conducted to gather personal experiences and perspectives. This research explored factors related to administrator support, working conditions, and governing policies that shaped teachers' career decisions. Since the early 2000s, the Commonwealth of Virginia has consistently identified special education as a critical area of teacher shortage, with it ranking as the top shortage area since 2006. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) administrator support, (b) positive colleague relationships, (c) meaningful impact on students' lives, (d) workload, and (e) compensation and benefits. These themes revealed that while financial considerations played a role, relational and environmental factors, particularly administrative and peer support, were central to teachers' persistence. Findings suggest that retention strategies must address multiple, interconnected factors, including leadership responsiveness, collaborative work environments, recognition of teacher impact, manageable workloads, and competitive compensation. Recommendations for future research include expanding to larger and more diverse samples, incorporating administrator perspectives, and exploring retention factors by instructional setting and grade level.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Glaser, Ellen Rachel"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Education","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership and Policy Studies","degree_department":"Educational Leadership and Policy Studies","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Mullen, Carol Ann"],"committee_members":["Brinkmann, Jodie Lynn","Holleb, Aimee Joy","Williams, Thomas O."],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-18","date_published":"2025-12-18","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:29Z","subjects":["administrator support","attrition","collegial support","emotional and behavioral disability","retention","special education teacher"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44809"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:44809","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/140038","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Mullen, Carol Ann"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Brinkmann, Jodie Lynn","Holleb, Aimee Joy","Williams, Thomas O."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Glaser, Ellen Rachel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-12-19T09:00:46Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-12-19T09:00:46Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-12-18"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["administrator support","attrition","collegial support","emotional and behavioral disability","retention","special education teacher"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44809"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/140038"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to examine how special education teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities perceive key factors that influence their decisions to persist in or leave their position, school, or profession. The study employed a basic qualitative methodology. Demographic and background data were collected through questionnaires, and individual in-depth interviews were conducted to gather personal experiences and perspectives. This research explored factors related to administrator support, working conditions, and governing policies that shaped teachers' career decisions. Since the early 2000s, the Commonwealth of Virginia has consistently identified special education as a critical area of teacher shortage, with it ranking as the top shortage area since 2006. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) administrator support, (b) positive colleague relationships, (c) meaningful impact on students' lives, (d) workload, and (e) compensation and benefits. These themes revealed that while financial considerations played a role, relational and environmental factors, particularly administrative and peer support, were central to teachers' persistence. Findings suggest that retention strategies must address multiple, interconnected factors, including leadership responsiveness, collaborative work environments, recognition of teacher impact, manageable workloads, and competitive compensation. Recommendations for future research include expanding to larger and more diverse samples, incorporating administrator perspectives, and exploring retention factors by instructional setting and grade level."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to examine how special education teachers who work with students who have challenges managing their emotions and behavior perceive key factors that influence their decisions to persist in or leave their position, school, or profession. The study employed a basic qualitative methodology. Demographic and background data were collected through questionnaires, and individual in-depth interviews were conducted to gather personal experiences and perspectives from 10 participants. Five participants were current teachers, and five participants were former teachers. This research explored factors related to administrator support, working conditions, and governing policies that shaped teachers' career decisions. For over 20 years, Virginia schools have struggled to find enough qualified teachers to work with students who have special needs, making this the state's biggest teacher shortage problem. The data revealed five key reasons: (a) administrator support, (b) positive colleague relationships, (c) meaningful impact on students' lives, (d) workload, and (e) compensation and benefits. These reasons revealed that while salary and benefits played a role, relational and environmental factors, particularly administrative and peer support, were central to teachers' reasons to stay in their jobs. Teachers made it clear that approaches to support and keep teachers must address multiple, interconnected factors, including leadership responsiveness, collaborative work environments, recognition of teacher impact, manageable workloads, and competitive compensation."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Education"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Perceptions of Special Education Teachers of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities Regarding Key Factors Influencing Their Decisions to Persist in or Leave Their Positions"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Mullen, Carol Ann"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Brinkmann, Jodie Lynn","Holleb, Aimee Joy","Williams, Thomas O."],"dc:contributor.department":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"],"dc:creator":["Glaser, Ellen Rachel"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-12-19T09:00:46Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-12-19T09:00:46Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-12-18"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to examine how special education teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities perceive key factors that influence their decisions to persist in or leave their position, school, or profession. The study employed a basic qualitative methodology. Demographic and background data were collected through questionnaires, and individual in-depth interviews were conducted to gather personal experiences and perspectives. This research explored factors related to administrator support, working conditions, and governing policies that shaped teachers' career decisions. Since the early 2000s, the Commonwealth of Virginia has consistently identified special education as a critical area of teacher shortage, with it ranking as the top shortage area since 2006. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) administrator support, (b) positive colleague relationships, (c) meaningful impact on students' lives, (d) workload, and (e) compensation and benefits. These themes revealed that while financial considerations played a role, relational and environmental factors, particularly administrative and peer support, were central to teachers' persistence. Findings suggest that retention strategies must address multiple, interconnected factors, including leadership responsiveness, collaborative work environments, recognition of teacher impact, manageable workloads, and competitive compensation. Recommendations for future research include expanding to larger and more diverse samples, incorporating administrator perspectives, and exploring retention factors by instructional setting and grade level."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["The purpose of this study was to examine how special education teachers who work with students who have challenges managing their emotions and behavior perceive key factors that influence their decisions to persist in or leave their position, school, or profession. The study employed a basic qualitative methodology. Demographic and background data were collected through questionnaires, and individual in-depth interviews were conducted to gather personal experiences and perspectives from 10 participants. Five participants were current teachers, and five participants were former teachers. This research explored factors related to administrator support, working conditions, and governing policies that shaped teachers' career decisions. For over 20 years, Virginia schools have struggled to find enough qualified teachers to work with students who have special needs, making this the state's biggest teacher shortage problem. The data revealed five key reasons: (a) administrator support, (b) positive colleague relationships, (c) meaningful impact on students' lives, (d) workload, and (e) compensation and benefits. These reasons revealed that while salary and benefits played a role, relational and environmental factors, particularly administrative and peer support, were central to teachers' reasons to stay in their jobs. Teachers made it clear that approaches to support and keep teachers must address multiple, interconnected factors, including leadership responsiveness, collaborative work environments, recognition of teacher impact, manageable workloads, and competitive compensation."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Education"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:44809"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/140038"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["administrator support","attrition","collegial support","emotional and behavioral disability","retention","special education teacher"],"dc:title":["Perceptions of Special Education Teachers of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities Regarding Key Factors Influencing Their Decisions to Persist in or Leave Their Positions"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:29Z"}