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Burnout and Workload in Teachers of Children with Severe Learning Difficulties
Author(s) -
Male D. B.,
May D. S.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
british journal of learning disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1468-3156
pISSN - 1354-4187
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3156.1997.tb00023.x
Subject(s) - workload , burnout , coping (psychology) , psychology , developmental psychology , medical education , applied psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , computer science , operating system
This paper addresses the possibility that teachers of children with severe learning difficulties (SLD) may be especially vulnerable to heightened stress levels. A postal questionnaire posing investigative questions relating to workload and sources and quality of stress was sent to eight SLD schools in inner city, urban and rural areas in the south‐east of England. Fifty‐seven SLD teachers responded. Results indicated that SLD teachers were subject to high workload and long hours of work. High scores were obtained for the variable Emotional Exhaustion as measured by the education version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Qualitative data identified workload and challenging behaviour as the most frequently cited sources of intense stress. Results are discussed with reference to the need to develop effective job‐related coping strategies for SLD teachers.