Double Special: A Qualitative Exploration of Work-Family Spillover Experience from Special Siblings with a Career in Special Education

• Main Authors: LIU,YI-JUNG, 劉益蓉
• Other Authors: Chiu,Chun-Yu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/79989890058999399106

碩士 === 國立臺北教育大學 === 特殊教育學系碩士班 === 105 === Research has shown that the attrition rate for special educator is high compared to other professions and that growing up with someone with disabilities may impact typically–developed siblings’ well-being and major life decisions, including career choice. In fact, it is not unusual to see siblings of individuals with disabilities pursuing special education-related career. However, literature on individuals who have a brother/sister with disabilities and are currently working as special educators (hereafter referred to as special educator sibling) have thus far remained scant. Because of the uniqueness and similarities of experiences of special educators and special siblings in their respective settings, this study aims to further explore work-family spillover experiences of special educator siblings to understand how states of well-being from work domain of life can be transmitted to family domain and vice versa. Attendees will walk away with more understanding about special educator siblings’ experiences and well-being. Findings from the study indicate that, for these five Taiwanese special educator siblings, work and family experiences have positive spillover effects over each other. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interview transcripts revealed the following main themes: (a) Good interpersonal relationships: Participants reported their experiences helped them establish trusting partnership at work and improve relationships at home. Specifically, they found it easier to build rapport with their students, parents of students, and colleagues at work when they disclosed their special sibling identity. On the other hand, experiences at work also helped participants to emphasize with their own parents and siblings at home. Experiences as a special educator tend to improve sibling relationship because special educator siblings were more knowledgeable about how to interact with their brother/sister with disabilities as compared to other siblings. However, some participants mentioned that the special educator training made them more likely to speak up and offer disability-related advice at home, which sometimes caused conflicts in families more influenced by Confucian Hierarchy. (b) Advanced disability-related knowledge and skill: Participants reported that they have more access to disability-related information, particularly information on assistive technology, financial subsidy, and personal connections for professional consultation. On the other hand, caregiving experiences as a sibling helped the participants to gain knowledge and skill to perform better as a special educator. (c) Different perspectives toward disability: Participants described their brother/sister with disabilities with professional diagnostic information, but also had high expectations for the brother/sister. (d) Satisfactory well-being: Participants feel more comfortable because they have access of resources to disability-related services. However, they also said that their parents were more likely to appoint them as the future caregiver as compared to other typically-developed siblings. Being the sibling most involved in care-giving and disability-related services can be burdening, and they suggested open discussion and a plan to share the responsibility with other people (i.e., other siblings, professionals from formal services) would help.