Abstract:
The pressure of being a teacher of students with special needs could eventually drive
teachers to burnout, a phenomenon that manifests itself in emotional exhaustion,
depersonalization and feeling incapable of personal accomplishment. Burnout has
physical and psychological symptoms and affects teachers‟ wellbeing and quality of
work. In order to identify the causes and symptoms of teacher burnout, this study was
conducted in 5 private schools in Beirut. A qualitative research approach and a multiplecase
study design were followed. The instruments were the Mashlach Burnout
Inventory- Educators Survey (MBI-ES) that 54 special education teachers responded to,
a researcher‟s reflective journal, and semi-structured interviews with 5 Heads of special
education departments and 5 teachers of students with special needs. Qualitative and
quantitative data analysis was conducted and credibility, trustworthiness and ethical
practice were ensured. Findings indicate that Lebanese special education teachers
experience high burnout on emotional exhaustion and low burnout on depersonalization
and personal accomplishment caused by teaching conditions, minimal support, heavy
workload, challenging students‟ behavior, teacher expectations not matching reality, role
conflict and ambiguity, and lack of teacher training. Recommendations for dealing with
burnout were highlighted.
