Exploring job burnout among special education teachers who works in private institution in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Context and Purpose: the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of burnout among special education teachers working with students on the autism spectrum in Saudi Arabia. The research aimed to identify contributing factors to job burnout and explore strategies to overcome this phenomenon.

Methods: a qualitative study was conducted by using a semi-structured interviews with four female teachers who work with autism students employing thematic analysis to analyze data. The data analysis process identified four main themes, with some themes further divided into sub-themes, such as factors and coping mechanisms.

Results: All the participants suffered from job burnout. Four factors emerged as significant contributors to it according to participants: work pressure, lack of administrative or institutional cooperation, low salaries, and a monotonous routine. The study categorized strategies into two groups. The first encompassed coping mechanisms adopted by teachers, involving work-life balance maintenance, vacations, sports engagement, seeking a supportive work environment, and acquiring social support. The second category consisted of teachers' suggestions for strategies that institutions or administrations could implement to enhance teacher professional respect. These strategies included workload management, emotional well-being promotion, resource provision, job expectation clarification, and supportive work environments. Encouraging teachers to employ coping mechanisms and self-care practices holds significance for bolstering well-being and enhancing special education quality.

Conclusion: thus, all participants in this study experience job burnout and they assume themselves they suffer from it even though this study was done in a qualitative way and without using Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Indeed, this study demonstrates that exploring the phenomenon of job burnout through qualitative research allows for a deeper understanding and uncovering of details that may not be readily apparent in quantitative approaches.