Assessment of stress on teacher of mentally retarted children?

Question

I am doing masters in Special Education. I have already cleared two semesters and now it is time to write thesis. My topic is ASSESSMENT OF STRESS ON THE TEACHERS OF MENTALLY RETARTED CHILDREN. I am unable to get material on the topic. Can any one help me to find material sufficient for the said purpose.

Answer 1

There are generally three levels of mental retardation:

mild, moderate, & severe profound.

If you are going to assess stress, you need to decide what type of assessment you will use. Do you simply want to develop a survey? Are you going to measure blood pressure or pulse rate during class?Are you sending surveys, or giving your assessment, to teachers with self- contained classrooms only? You could develop an online survey and enlist the help of several local school systems to let you pass along your website survey address for anonymous answers.

I think you need to narrow your topic. Many self-contained teachers burn out after a few years. You could survey or interview all types of special ed teachers who have left the field. You could find out why they left special ed, or find out how many changed jobs in their careers. Or,  you could simply find out what causes burn out in special ed teachers.

I'll start you off. I began as an early childhood teacher (K-3). I really wanted special ed. I finally added that to my teaching certificate 11 years later with a master's degree. I taught at a community college for 7 years during that time.

Then I went back to the public school system as a resource teacher in a K-6 elementary school for 5 years, then transferred to grades 3-5 for 11 years. A resource teacher usually pulls students from the regular classroom for a determined period of time as indicated on the IEP to teach a specific area - reading, math, writing. I also did some inclusion classes with regular ed. The first was the community-based school I had attended as a child. The second was a rural school which had been paired with a city school. We had 54% free or reduced lunch, 48% minority, 45% public housing. The last five years at this level wore me down because the students got tougher and tougher to deal with. I went to the special ed director and asked for a change following a particularly rough day.

The next year I moved to high school in the affluent area. I've been there 4 years. I love it. I work with special needs students who are preparing for the workforce and will receive a diploma. I teach basic English, math, science, social studies, and occupational preparation. We give them job opportunities through job shadowing, volunteer work, etc. This program is called the Occupational Course of Study and is a course of study developed by NC.

What wore me out before and still bothers me today is that of those elementary students I had, two of them are in the local jail awaiting trial for murder (two different incidents & two different people involved), another awaits trial for kidnapping and holding hostage with a gun plus robbery, then there are the two brothers who were arrested in separate incidents for drug sales and rape, plus there were two pedophiles that were arrested, and my list goes on. This is what causes burn out - you cannot pull some students out of their substandard living conditions. You cannot make their parents care about them, and you really begin to feel helpless, like you are not making a difference at all. You forget to look at the positive impact you have made for many others. It got so bad for a while I refused to read the local paper because it was one of my former students every time there was something bad.

Some other things that cause burn out include lack of teaching materials, lack of professional courtesy or respect from regular ed colleagues or even administration, lack of space to teach - your class is usually relegated to the boiler room, mop closet, or stairwell.

Answer 2

can you interview teachers for your thesis? Whats better than going straight to the source?... if not you should read the book "One Child" by torey hayden... great book and it might help you out... hope you find what you need!

Answer 3

Great topic!  There is a lot of burnout in this field of teaching. May I suggest that you not use the term 'mentally retarded"? It's considered outdated and offensive, since society now makes fun of people by calling them retards or tards. My suggestion would be to use either "cognitively impaired", "developmentally disabled", "pervasive developmental disorders", or "severe special needs".

Also, those of us in special education never label children by the name of their diagnosis. We see them as children who have a diagnosis, not as their diagnosis. So you would say, "children with autism", instead of "autistic children". It is simply a matter of respect and to remember that they are children first.

There should be a number of studies on this topic in various professional journals within the field of special education. Search through the data bases for these journals and don't limit your search by using the term "stress". Also try "job burnout, job turnover, teacher preparation, teacher emotions, the reasons teachers leave special education, etc."

Of course, do online searches as well. If you need a subscription to access journals online, check with your professors to see if your university library already has access.

I would use these studies to design a survey to assess teacher stress. Ask your thesis professor for feedback in designing it and for suggestions for where to send the survey. Online surveys are best for getting people to answer your questions. You could contact the superintendents of school districts, professional organizations, etc. to ask permission to mass survey teachers or members. You can then use this data in your thesis. And of course, you could also interview people in person. Remember, you may be seeking employment from these districts soon and this is your chance to make a great impression.