Development of emotion regulation skills among new teachers in special education: the key role of educational leaders and colleagues

Purpose. To trace the process of developing emotion regulation skills among female teachers in special education in their early career. The study posed two questions: (1) What are the patterns of developing emotion regulation skills in early career in teaching? (2) What are the factors that stimulate and influence the process of developing emotion regulation? Method. Twelve teachers in the early career stage working in special education participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings. The teachers reported moving from emotion suppression in the first two years in teaching to a display of both positive and negative emotions. Among the factors affecting, this process is the new teachers’ colleagues and the school principals. Value. Studying the development of emotion regulation skills in teaching increases our understanding of early career in teaching, on one hand, and of the place of emotion regulation in the professional development of new teachers, on the other.