| 英文摘要 |
Purpose: The impact of job burnout on special education teachers through physiological and psychological stress has become a critical concern. Special educational institutions in Taiwan focus on inclusion, zero rejection, and parent empowerment, and emphasize teachers professional development and job duties. However, the question of how to assist special education teachers in dealing with burnout is rarely discussed. Research indicates that the application of effective interventions for physiological and psychological recovery can assist teachers to reduce burnout. Nevertheless, innovative and evidencebased strategies or programs are required. Music therapy is a well-established treatment for burnout and stress, and has a strong evidence basis. The author advocates the equal use of physical and psychological assessments. Methods: A pretest-posttest equivalentgroup design was employed. A total of 33 special education teachers were recruited. Seventeen teachers met the recruitment criteria and were randomly assigned to three groups. The music therapist conducted 120-minute music therapy sessions for two experimental groups, and 90-minute music relaxation activities for one control group. All groups received the intervention once a week, for 6 weeks. Data for this study were collected using a questionnaire on demographics, the Physical Symptoms Inventory, the Special Education Teachers Burnout Inventory, NeuroSky electroencephalography, and the Participation Experience Questionnaire. Results/Findings: The results showed decreased burnout and increased relaxation in Experimental Groups 1 and 2 after the interventions. In addition, the results indicated that increased relaxation did not result in decreased burnout in the Control Group; this demonstrates that music therapy contributed to positive influences, but did not reduce negative impacts. Results from Experimental Group 1 and the Control Group showed a practical difference with a Cohens d effect size. Furthermore, the participants’ opinions supported the quantitative results. Conclusions/ Implications: Music therapy reduces burnout and increases relaxation. Regarding theoretical implications, music therapy that combines music with verbal suggestions is linked to decreased burnout and increased relaxation. The application of new technology contributes to the realization of research aims in music therapy. Regarding practical implications, the findings of the current study can promote the development of effective music therapy programs. Music therapy is an effective and appropriate intervention for assisting special education teachers in coping with their burnout. However, this study is limited in scope. The results were limited by the small number of participants. Replication studies are necessary to determine whether the results of the current study can be generalized to special education teachers in Taiwan and other countries. |
