Special education teachers (SET) provide children with disabilities with critical care and environments to promote development. Yet, their work often involves difficulties such as children who may exhibit challenging behaviors, a lack of peer support, unanticipated administrative work, which relate to increased stress, burnout, and intention to leave the field. Times of crisis can considerably amplify these existing circumstances. However, individuals may draw upon various internal and/or external resources to help cope with the crisis, enabling them to cope, adapt, and bounce back – a process known as resilience. Beyond their general work situation, war requires SET to cope with issues such as displacement, lack of wages, difficulties accessing basic resources, uncertainty, fear for their own safety, that of the children at school, and often, their own children at home. In the war that broke out in Israel immediately after the events of October 7, 2023, schools operated under extreme circumstances including threats of daily missile attacks, evacuation and/or relocation, staff shortages, and students’ and staff’s trauma and stress. In this study, we explored SET’ coping and resilience during the war, with the aim of identifying ways to help promote resilience and optimize their pivotal role in educating children with special education needs.

Participants were 260 SET, aged 20-65 (M=38.09, SD=11.29), with an average of 13.6 (SD=10.58) years of teaching experience. The children in their classes varied in their disabilities, with the largest group being children with autism (33%), followed by learning disabilities (22%), behavioral issues (17%) , intellectual disabilities (16%), mental health disorders (11%), and sensory disabilities (1%).

Data was collected through open-ended questions that were included in online questionnaires sent via Google Forms:
(1) How do you perceive the role of a special education teacher during the Iron Swords War?
(2) What factors in your life/environment help you carry out your role as a special education teacher during the Iron Swords War?
(3) What factors in your life/environment hinder you in carrying out your role as a special education teacher during the Iron Swords War?

A thematic analysis, using iterative readings of the written responses, revealed two primary categories -- internal and external coping mechanisms -- with various themes in each. Participants referred to internal resources related to belief and faith (“My strong faith that everything happens is from God above”), followed by personal characteristics such as psychological capital -- hope, efficacy, resilience, optimism (“Being optimistic”), and a sense of meaning and mission (“The knowledge that the children depend on us”). The themes under external coping related to social support drawn from a variety of sources, including immediate family (“I couldn’t manage without my family”), the students (“The children in special education strengthen me”), staff (“Being able to share…to understand that you aren’t alone”, and principal/administration (“The administration really supports and is considerate”).

While SET encountered numerous difficulties during the acute crisis of the war, they demonstrated effective use of both internal and external coping mechanisms. The lessons regarding these coping techniques can be used to promote SET’ resilience in contending with crisis in addition to the challenges posed by the nature of the work itself.

Keywords: Crisis, belief, psychological capital, social support, sense of mission.