Optimizing Special Educator Wellness and Job Performance through Stress Management

Autor/inn/en	Ansley, Brandis M.; Houchins, David; Varjas, Kris
Titel	Optimizing Special Educator Wellness and Job Performance through Stress Management
Quelle	In: TEACHING Exceptional Children, 48 (2016) 4, S.176-185 (10 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0040-0599
DOI	10.1177/0040059915626128
Schlagwörter	Special Education Teachers; Wellness; Job Performance; Stress Management; Teaching (Occupation); Teaching Conditions; Coping; Elementary Secondary Education; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Exercise; Relaxation Training + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Special education; Teacher; Teachers; Sonderpädagoge; Sonderpädagogik; Sonderschulwesen; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Well being; Well-being; Wohlbefinden; Work performance; Arbeitsleistung; Stressmanagement; Stressbewältigung; Teaching; Lehrberuf; Lehrbedingungen; Unterrichtsbedingungen; Bewältigung; Psychiatrische Symptomatik; Übung; Entspannungstraining
Abstract	In addition to the stressors common to many K-12 teachers, such as high-stakes testing, a lack of autonomy, and high mental and emotional demands, special educators also address the unique needs of their students, team-teach, and maintain caseload responsibilities (Emery & Vandenberg, 2010). Many who enter the profession are fulfilled by the nature of their work, which involves helping students overcome obstacles. Yet, to effectively do so, special education teachers must balance multiple roles that require them to sustain high levels of physical and mental energy over extended periods. Such high demands in the job design of special educators could lead to chronic and persistent stress and adversely affect their wellness, job performance, and ultimately, student outcomes (Emery & Vandenberg, 2010; Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Shen et al., 2015). Fortunately, effective coping strategies can be self-taught by using quality informational resources or by hiring professionals who specialize in wellness or stress management (e.g., counselors, personal trainers, life coaches). Coping skills can be practiced individually, with a group of people, informally, or even under the supervision of a trained professional. As this article points out, special educator instructors have been using stress management skills concepts due to their knowledge of using different strategies and finding what works best for individuals as they routinely draft and execute personalized plans specific for their students. Similarly, special educators can apply their differentiation skills to create their own personalized plans for coping effectively with stress. The goal of stress reduction plans should be to reduce thoughts and behaviors that exacerbate stress and replace these with thoughts and behaviors that improve wellness. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01