Since research on those training adults with intellectual disabilities is not significant, this study will examine research involving special needs educators in Singapore and abroad abroad.Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayStudies on the stress faced by teachers or educators are part of a broader effort to examine occupational stress with which individuals in various professions face and what its effects are. of such stress are. Beehr and Newman (1978) describe occupational stress as a condition in which factors related to an individual's work cause disruptions or improvements in that individual's normal physical or psychological conditions, causing him or her to deviate from his or her way to function normally. The professional stress that teachers sometimes face is due to differences within their profession. Difference within a profession refers to the diversity of professional tensions that teachers face and which depend on their different job titles and varied fields of activity. Teachers cannot in any way be classified as a standardized group - there are many teachers who perform different tasks, face varied challenges, demands and rewards which depend on factors such as the school in which they work , the level of the students they teach, whether they teach or not. students with special needs, etc. For example, international studies have shown that special education (SE) teachers face high levels of stress related to a multitude of concerns, ranging from their job responsibilities to SE teacher attrition. Additionally, several studies show that the amount of stress experienced by SE teachers varies from the stress that regular teachers typically face. For example, Cherkes and Fimian (1982) found that SE teachers reported higher job stress, but Kyriacou (1987) and Trendall (1989) concluded that SE teachers reported higher job stress. have lower levels of stress in their work environment compared to their colleagues in mainstream schools. In their study, Williams and Gersch (2004) did not find a major difference in the total level of stress faced by ES teachers and mainstream classroom teachers. others report the opposite and still others do not detect a difference in the levels of stress faced by higher education teachers and teachers in mainstream schools. These variable results may be caused by the diversity of sociocultural and educational contexts and by a difference in the measurement instruments and investigation methods used in different studies. The lack of exact definitions of stress, as well as the lack of stress process models for higher education teachers. , is concerning and should not be ignored, although the lack of these definitions and models could arise from the possibility that stress cannot be defined formally or comprehensively. Although the exact definition of stress is difficult to discern, the literature reviewed for this study clearly indicates that the terms "stressors", "stress", "strain" and "burnout" are not interchangeable and should be distinguished between them. from each other. Related environmental factorsat work that have the potential to disrupt psychological behavior, social, and physiological health are defined in brief as “stressors” at work. These stressors can be calculated both subjectively (e.g., through an individual's perceptions of their work environment) or objectively (e.g., the actual characteristics of an environment). Negative social, physical, psychological, and behavioral changes that result from exposure to stressors are defined as "strain," which is also described as the adverse consequence of stress. “Burnout” refers to the ultimate response to continuous and intense periods of stress. Particularly present in occupations in which individuals must work with others, burnout is described as a negative psychological state caused by chronic work-related stress. Burnout differs from episodic stress in that it typically has long-term effects and can result in clinical severity since people who experience burnout may ultimately fail to recover without assistance. The reviewed literature further provides comprehensive information on the factors that contribute to the complexity of SE work environments and the specific conditions that SE teachers reported as stressful. Research highlights many sources of stress that SE teachers face, discipline, contact with parents, administration, paperwork, working relationships with fellow teachers, disruptive students and classrooms. overcrowded classrooms being the most frequently cited sources. Other factors that contribute to the stress SE teachers face include a lack of equipment needed to meet the needs of their students and a lack of appropriate professional training for educators who have difficulty meeting the needs of SEN children . Koeske and Koeske (1993) further classified the sources of stress faced by higher education faculty into four categories: organizational, interpersonal, training, and instructional. In a comprehensive thematic analysis of research investigating possible factors that contribute to higher education faculty attrition and retention, Billingsley (2004), indicated that work environment factors (including poor pay, a suboptimal climate, weak administrative support, and difficulty adapting to different job fields) can cause negative affective reactions such as increased stress levels, low job satisfaction, and organizational and professional decline. teacher engagement. This could ultimately lead to withdrawal, which could eventually lead to attrition. According to a qualitative study of higher education faculty's exit intentions by Morvant, Gersten, Gillman, Keating, and Blake's (1995), 80 percent of those who considered leaving their jobs reported higher levels of stress. on a daily or weekly basis, compared to just over 50 percent of those who remained at their posts. Those who considered leaving spoke more frequently about stress and highlighted the diversity of student needs and abilities, bureaucratic demands, and conflicting expectations, goals, and instructions as factors that caused them. Status does not appear to affect SE teachers’ stress levels or their engagement in the field. Research to determine whether an educator's training and experiencecontributed to stress levels gave ambiguous results. New higher education faculty reported feeling underprepared, frustrated, and exhausted in an interview study by Kilgore and Griffin (1998) reported by Rosenberg, O'Shea. and O'Shea (1998). In contrast, more experienced SE teachers reported lower levels of stress. This may be due to the possibility that they have developed methods to better manage and defuse their frustrations at work, over time. Another study found that teachers who have expectations about their tasks and roles that are not met experience frustration and leave the sector. This observation is consistent with the results of another study that cites role conflict and ambiguity among the top organizational working conditions that become major sources of stress for SE teachers. Role conflict occurs when a teacher's responsibilities conflict with the realities of professional life, whereas role ambiguity refers to a scenario in which a teacher does not have sufficient information to discharge professional responsibilities adequately. It is crucial to note that the significance of a potential stressor depends on how a teacher personally reacts and adapts to the demands of their job, not the actual situation the teacher may face. Although the research-based literature on stress does not report that higher education faculty experience levels of stress high enough to constitute crises, the SE faculty population should be continually monitored given spikes in stress. levels of stress that these professionals face. The literature also provides details on inclusive education, which involves all students being taught in the same classroom so that they have access to equal opportunities, regardless of any disabilities some students may have. According to Foreman (2001), inclusive education generally allows students with or at risk of learning disabilities to be taught in the same educational setting as their non-disabled peers. Commonly referred to as “mainstreaming” in Singapore, this strategy involves adjustments to a school’s policies and practices to better meet the needs of all students. Inclusive education requires a school-wide, or even national, effort to adapt the general education framework for all students, with an emphasis on collaboration with professionals and families of students with special educational needs. Moore (2009) further asserts that individual prejudice against people with disabilities must first be abolished for integration to become a reality. Brophy and Good (1974) add that it is essential that policy makers recognize the correlation between teachers' perceptions and attitudes and their students' achievement, behaviors, and self-esteem, especially since teachers are the key to determining the success or failure of such projects. inclusion or integration efforts. The literature reviewed provides implications for professional practice, particularly for those responsible for developing HE teacher education programs. Those developing SE training programs should consider factors - such as pressure to perform, issues of student supervision and behavior management, and the safety and hygiene of students with special needs - likely to increase the stress level of SE teachers during..