ABSTRACT
Compassion fatigue is a familiar concept in the social work and healthcare field, and it has recently become prevalent to the education field (Newell & MacNeil, 2010;Abraham-Cook, 2012). However, there has been limited research examining compassion fatigue specifically with classroom teachers. This study aims to add to the literature focusing on elementary classroom teachers and the self-care strategies that they are using to address their compassion fatigue. Although this concept has existed well before the COVID-19 pandemic, compassion fatigue is an important topic that is gaining attention of school administrators and educators now more than ever because of the added stress that has been brought on by the pandemic. This case study contained four participants in the New England area who participated in in-depth interviews that focused on their experiences with compassion fatigue, their self-care strategies, and how they have addressed their compassion fatigue throughout their careers. Results from this study indicated that compassion fatigue was present amongst all four of the participants and that the self-care strategies that they utilized were established before they became a classroom teacher. Furthermore, the results from this study indicate that all four participants had a clear purpose as to why they were teaching. This helped to provide the participants with a meaningful focus to propel forward in their careers, especially when things were difficult and bleak due to what they were experiencing from their students' lived experiences. The study concludes by providing implications for school administrators and classroom teachers for future research as well as professional development in hopes to help others address their own compassion fatigue. Additionally, limitations of this study are discussed. By completing this research study, the researcher hopes to normalize the conversation surrounding compassion fatigue and to bring optimism and awareness to those who may be experiencing compassion fatigue in their teaching experience so that they find the strength and methods to move forward and remain strong in their field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)