Serbova O., Lopatina H., Tsybuliak N. - Emotional burnout of a special education teacher

Contacts: Serbova Olha, PhD of psychology, associate professor of the department of applied psychology and speech therapy in Berdiansk State Pedagogical University, Berdiansk, Ukraine. Academic interests: empowerment and self-empowerment in the work of a psychologist with teachers.

 Lopatina Hanna, PhD of Pedagogy, associate professor of the department of applied psychology and speech therapy in Berdiansk State Pedagogical University, Berdiansk, Ukraine. Academic interests: the problem of professional training of special pedagogues in higher schools.

Tsybuliak Natalia, PhD of psychology, associate professor of the department of applied psychology and speech therapy in Berdiansk State Pedagogical University, Berdiansk, Ukraine. Academic interests: the problem of psychological support of professional activity of the teacher. 

The article analyzes the concept of "emotional burnout"; it is given presents a critical analysis and systematization of scientific study of emotional burnout of specialists. It is noted that in conditions of increasing the number of children with violations of psychophysical development and the level of complexity of these disorders, dynamic changes in the education system, the specific professional activity of a special teacher is associated with stress, emotional exhaustion and burnout, which leads to mental fatigue, lack of motivation and inhibition emotional reactions to different production situations. It has been established that emotional burnout of special teachers occurs in connection with the display of the resistance component, that is, the most common symptoms are emotional and moral disorientation, inadequate selective emotional response, and increase of the saving of emotions, reduction of professional responsibility.
There is a determined pattern of display of the emotional burnout of special education teachers, which depends on professional crisis and on the complexity of working conditions. It is proved that the level of display of emotional burnout among special teachers is critical, and a specific point to this profession is high rates of emotional burnout for young professionals (with work experience up to 10 years). It was determined that psychological support for the professional activities of special teachers is a key area of psychological support for these specialists, and realization of it is main way to prevention emotional burnout.

Key words: a special education teacher, emotional burnout, psychological support.