Blazing New Trails - Connexions

82 CRITICAL ISSUES IN SHARED LEADERSHIP
performed by the special education administrator. On the one hand, there is the expectation to
advocate for the resources needed to provide services to individual children; yet, on the other
hand, there is an expectation for the prudent management of district resources. This ambiguity
often has potential for creating conflict in a school district thereby reducing the effectiveness
in the delivery of services to students with disabilities (Sullivan, 1996). It is not surprising
that job-related burnout occurs at a high rate in those administering special education
programs.
Maslach (1982) described burnout as “a response to the chronic emotional strain of
dealing extensively with other human beings, particularly when they are troubled or having
problems” (p.3). Torelli and Gmelch (1992) wrote, “Burnout appears to be related to a
response of interpersonal job actions and intense contact with people” (p. 4). Maslach,
Jackson, and Leiter, (1996) further defined burnout as “a syndrome of emotional exhaustion,
depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals
who work with people in some capacity” (p. 4).
Emotional exhaustion is a component of job related burnout characterized by “a lack
of energy and a feeling that one’s emotional resources are used up” and manifests itself
through “feelings of frustration and tension” and “dread at the prospect of returning to work
for another day” (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993, p. 623). Feelings of tiredness and fatigue
overwhelm the individual such that he or she can no longer perform at the same level as he or
she previously had (Maslach et. al., 1996). A second component of burnout,
depersonalization, is characterized by treating students as objects rather than people. This may
be displayed through behaviors such as a “detached and an emotional callousness” or “strict
compartmentalization of professional lives” (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993, p. 623). Educators
who are experiencing depersonalization often display indifferent or negative attitudes about
their work as well as their students. The final component, diminished personal
accomplishment, is characterized “by a tendency to evaluate oneself negatively” and “a
decline in feelings of job competence and successful achievement in their work or interactions
with people” (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993, pp. 623–624). If educators feel they are not
contributing to students’ learning and growth, which is the focus of their personal
accomplishment, they can experience profound disappointment and may relinquish their
dedication to teaching. People with low personal accomplishments feel they no longer make a
difference and give up trying (Torelli & Gmelch, 1992). Employee burnout has the potential
for serious consequences: deterioration in the quality of service provided, job turnover,
absenteeism, and low morale as well as the psychological and physical health of the
individual (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993; Edmonson, 2001; Maslach et. al., 1996).
Several studies have explored stress and burnout in regular education teachers, special
education teachers, and school district administrators (Gmelch & Torelli, 1993; Torelli &
Gmelch, 1992). As Cordes and Dougherty (1993) stated, “Empirical evidence has shown that
burnout has important dysfunctional ramifications, implying substantial costs for both
organizations and individuals” (p. 621). Among the most comprehensive studies on the
subject was a meta-analysis conducted by Edmonson in 2001. Her analysis synthesized the
findings of 46 studies addressing burnout in special educators, but only five of these studies
focused on special education administrators. These five studies indicated that job burnout is
related to role ambiguity, role tensions, including role expectations, role overload, personal
inadequacy, self role concept, and resource inadequacy. Edmonson (2001) emphasized,
“Because of the importance of administrators in special education, the study of burnout
among these professionals should be of primary concern of future research studies” (p. 19–
20).