Stress and Burnout in Teachers Handling Children with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

The present study was designed to explore the incidence of stress and burnout in teachers of children with learning disabilities (LD). It also attempted to investigate the effect of - (a) age of the teachers, (b) special training and (c) years of experience in teaching LD children on the stress level of these teachers. The sample for the present study included 44 female teachers from various institutions for children with learning disabilities in Bangalore. Stress & burnout level in teachers was assessed through a semi-structured interview schedule, Teacher Stress Scale (modified Wilson Stress Profile for Teachers, 1979) and Burnout Inventory (Maslach's Burnout Inventory, 1981). Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were made. The results revealed that of the total 44 teachers, 45.45 percent (20 of them) experienced moderate level of stress and only 2.27 percent (one teacher) experienced high level of stress. The results also revealed that age did not have a significant effect on the nature of stress, stress management and burnout level. It was seen that there is on effect of special training in teaching children with learning disabilities on the nature of stress, stress management & burnout level in terms of managing students in the class. There was a 

significant difference in the stress and burnout level in teachers with regard to years of experience. It was also found that emotional exhaustion was significantly higher among teachers who reported moderate level of stress as compared to teachers reporting low level of stress. A qualitative analysis of the interview data suggests that there is a significant amount of denial in the teachers, in terms of their rating on the level of stress experienced by them.