Date of Graduation

7-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods

Advisor/Mentor

Smith, Christy

Committee Member

Brady, Kevin

Second Committee Member

Smith, Marcia

Keywords

special education teachers’ (SETs), Kansas State Department of Education, collective efficacy, workload manageability

Abstract

This study investigated special education teachers’ (SETs) perceptions of workload manageability and the relationship between these perceptions and intentions to quit. State-wide data from the Kansas State Department of Education showed a significant increase in the number of special education vacancies from a total of 161, or .03% in the 2019-2020 school year to 557, or 11%, in the 2024-2025 school year. Over the past four years, the number of special education teachers with a non-traditional license has increased from 312, or 6%, in the 2021-2022 school year to 427, or 8%, in the 2024-2025 school year (KSDE, 2025). Using descriptive statistics, this study found minimal differences in the perceptions of working condition components and overall workload manageability based on years of experience and type of certification as measured by the means of each component. Using inferential statistics, a t-test indicated there was no statistically significant difference between perceptions of working condition components based on service delivery model. It is important to note that planning time indicates the largest effect size (-.62) when comparing perceptions between self-contained and combination teachers. Using an inductive thematic analysis process to compare perceptions based on service delivery models, two major themes emerged from the semi-structured interviews: collective efficacy and workload manageability. Finally, using inferential statistics, a moderate, inverse correlation (- .45) was found between perceptions of workload manageability and intentions to quit, suggesting that when negative perceptions increase, intentions to quit also increase. The one-tailed p value of .04 suggested that a true effect exists between perceptions of workload manageability and intentions to quit.

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