Examining special education pre-service teachers' and special education teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy, anxiety and burnout levels

In this study, special education pre-service teachers' and special education teachers' perceptions of professional self-efficacy, anxiety and burnout levels were examined according to various variables. Participants of the study are 212 male and 416 female special education pre-service teachers and special education teachers. In order to collect data, Personal Information Form, Special Education Professional Efficacy Survey, Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger et. al, 1970) and Teacher Professional Burnout Scale (Yellice-Yüksel, Kaner ve Şekercioğlu, 2008) were used. Personal Information form and Special Education Professional Efficacy Survey were developed by the researcher and data was collected using online forms which were developed using Google Docs. This study is a descriptive- correlational study. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation coefficient analysis by using SPSS 23 software. The results demonstrated that there is significant difference between mean of self –efficacy scores in terms of graduation level, undergraduate program and school type. Moreover, there is also significant difference between anxiety levels in terms of gender, age, marital status, graduation level, undergraduate program, experience and school type. The results also showed that there is significant difference between burnout scores in terms of gender. Finally, the results demonstrated negative correlation between self-efficacy scores and anxiety levels and burnout scores. Keywords: Special education, special education teacher, self-efficacy, anxiety, burnout.