Alumna Dr. Heather Walter (Ed.D., Special Education and Disability Studies), assistant professor of Special Education at George Mason University, has received an award from the Spencer Foundation to lead a study focused on improving the well-being of special education teachers. Collaborating with Dr. Nelson Brunsting (University of Florida) and Dr. Lionel Howard (George Washington University), Walter aims to develop a new tool to measure both occupational burnout and well-being of special education teachers—an approach that current tools fail to fully address.
Walter’s motivation is deeply personal, shaped by her own experience as a special educator navigating overwhelming job demands and unsupportive working conditions. Her project seeks to fill a critical gap in the research: while burnout is widely recognized, there is a lack of targeted assessment tools that reflect the unique, complex realities of special education teachers.
Over the next two years, the research team will work with approximately 400 special educators across the U.S. through surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Their goal is to create a validated measure that captures the full spectrum of these teachers’ workplace experiences. Ultimately, the study aims to address reforms that can improve retention and, by extension, the quality of education for students with disabilities.
Walter emphasizes that understanding special educators' challenges—through their own lens—is key to lasting change.
➡️ Read the full article to learn more about Dr. Walter’s work, the study’s goals, and what it could mean for the future of special education.