Arab Educational Information Network

Extensive efforts have been made to maximize the potential of children with disabilities in Oman. The establishment of Al-Wafaa centers of disabilities served as a channel to help families secure a variety of services provided to children with different disabling conditions. The purpose of this study was to explore the burnout of staff working in the disability centers in Oman. A related purpose was to compare their burnout levels in relation to the type of disability (intellectual disability and hearing impairment) and years of experience (1-5 years, 6-10 years, and above 10 years). Also, the study explored the association between burnout and work stress. The participants were 81 female staff in the disability centers from different areas. The participants completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Teacher Occupational Stress Factor Questionnaire (TOSFQ). The results of the study showed that disability centers staff had a moderate level in both emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment while they had a high level of depersonalization. The Kruskal Wallis test showed a significant effect of the experience level in the depersonalization subscale, ?[superscript 2] (2, N = 81) = 6.07, p = 0.048. Post-hoc analyses using the Mann-Whitney test indicated that staff with the experience level (6-10 years) had a higher depersonalization level than the experience level (above 10 years). The results also indicated that a significant relationship was found between burnout and work stress. The results of the study are discussed in relation to the early intervention services provided to children with disabilities and how the study variables relate to the policy and practice in the disability centers in Oman. (As provided)