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The lack of qualified special education teachers threatens the quality of education that students with disabilities receive. Attrition plays a part in the teacher shortage problem, and efforts to improve retention must be informed by an understanding of the factors that contribute to attrition. Specifically, the author provides a thematic analysis of studies investigating factors that contribute to special education teacher attrition and retention. She addresses four major themes: teacher characteristics and personal factors, teacher qualifications, work environments, and teachers' affective reactions to work. Following this thematic review, a critique of definitional, conceptual, and methodological approaches used to study special education attrition is provided, as are priorities for future research.
One of the most important challenges in the field of special education is developing a qualified workforce and creating work environments that sustain special educators' involvement and commitment. For more than two decades issues related to special education teacher shortages and attrition have been of concern to policymakers and administrators who work to recruit and retain special educators (Council for Exceptional Children, 2000; Morsink, 1982; Smith-Davis & Billingsley, 1993; Smith-Davis, Burke, & Noel, 1984).
The supply of and demand for special educators are influenced by varied and complex factors. McLeskey, Tyler, and Flippin (this issue) provide a comprehensive analysis of the broad range of factors that influence the special education teacher shortage. However, even a comprehensive analysis of available data may not fully illustrate the extent of the teacher shortage problem in special education. School districts may reduce services to students with disabilities or raise class size limits to cope with the lack of qualified teachers (Billingsley, 1993; Darling-Hammond & Sclan, 1996).
The shortage problem has serious and far-reaching implications for students with disabilities. The consequences of the shortage include inadequate educational experiences for students, reduced student achievement levels, and insufficient competence of graduates in the workplace (Darling-Hammond & Sclan, 1996).
Although the causes of the shortage problem are complex, teacher attrition is clearly a major contributor. Recent evidence suggests that special education, math, and science are the fields with the highest turnover and that special education teachers are more likely to depart than any other teacher group (Ingersoll, 2001). McLeskey et al. (this issue) provide an analysis of the research on special education...