Special education teachers' relationships with students and self-efficacy moderate associations between classroom-level disruptive behaviors and emotional exhaustion.

Abstract

This study examined the moderating role of teachers' relationship with students and their self-efficacy inthe association between classroom-level disruptive behaviors and emotional exhaustion. Two mea-surement occasions were completed by 98 teachers from fourteen Dutch special education schools foradolescent students with psychiatric disabilities. Results show that by the end of the school year,teachers with high levels of closeness and self-efficacy reported increases in emotional exhaustion as afunction of classroom-level disruptive behaviors, which is in line with research conducted in generaleducation studies. Unexpectedly, emotional exhaustion decreased in low-involved teachers experiencingmore classroom disruption.