Special Education Teacher Attrition: It All Depends on Where You Are Standing

Abstract

Special education teacher attrition has been a major concern for over fifteen years. There have been numerous studies and proposals to explain this problem and suggestions offered for interventions. In general, the studies have reported that approximately 50% of newly certified special education teachers leave the field during the first five years of their career. This study presents data from seven cohorts of special education teachers (n = 161) who were trained in one program. The study documented their employment histories since graduating from the program and the reasons they changed jobs. The teachers were not leaving the field in large numbers; however, they were very mobile.