Self-efficacy and the impact of challenging behavior on the psychological well-being of special educators

The relationship between the psychological well-being of special education teachers and their emotional response to the challenging behaviors they experience was investigated in a sample of 71 full time special educators possessing an emotional impairment (EI) endorsement on their teaching certificate. The role of teacher self-efficacy in mediating teacher burnout was also investigated. Three self-report instruments were used in the study. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey measures degrees of burnout on three scales: Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment. The Emotional Reaction to Challenging Behavior Scale looks at psychological responses to challenging behaviors on two factors: Depression/Anger and Fear/Anxiety. The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale is a measure of the educator's perception of efficacy along three factors: Student Engagement, Instructional Strategy, and Classroom Management. Bivariate and multivariate correlational and linear multivariate statistics were used to analyze and interpret the data. Results indicate that the burnout factor of depersonalization is most strongly related to the emotional responses of depression/anger and fear/anxiety. Teacher self-efficacy was not related to emotional responses.