音樂治療對改善臺北市國小特殊教育教師職業倦怠之成效

Effect of Music Therapy in Preventing Job Burnout of Special Education Teachers at Elementary Schools in Taipei

特教教師因職業倦怠引發之身心問題及影響，在國外受到高度關切。而在臺灣，因重視融合教育、零拒絕與家長賦權的推展，目前仍強調特教教師的專業發展和工作職責，鮮少討論協助教師因應職業倦怠的方法。研究指出，若能有效實施使個體身心恢復或舒緩個人工作壓力的介入策略，將有助於減緩教師的職業倦怠。然而，國內十分缺乏解決職業倦怠的方法，仍有建構創新方案並取得成效證據的需求。音樂治療雖在國外已被視為因應職業倦怠的緩和性心理策略，對改變壓力狀態時的生理機制也有以實證為基礎的研究支持，但國內外皆缺乏改善特教教師職業倦怠相關的實驗研究，在實務應用或學術研究上仍深具意義，值得探討。本研究從33 位報名的臺北市國小特教教師當中，依高風險程度篩選出17 名參與者，隨機分派至三個小組，分別是兩個實驗組接受「音樂治療」策略、一個對照組接受「音樂放鬆」活動，藉以比較三組教師於介入前後之職業倦怠心理評測指標與腦波放鬆生理評測指標的差異情形，同時分析不同組別特教教師的背景資料、身體症狀及參與經驗。研究結果顯示，兩組實驗組在「音樂治療」策略介入後，倦怠感減少且放鬆度提升；但對照組在放鬆度提升的同時，倦怠感並未降低，即「音樂放鬆」活動在促進對照組正向放鬆介入成效的同時，並未減少其倦怠感的負面影響。整體而言，以音樂治療為介入策略，對因應特教教師的職業倦怠有顯著的成效及實務上的效果值。

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.