25/10/2026
📚 Research: "The Disability Sector and Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Mauritius: A Research Overview"
I recently completed a research project on burnout among Special Educational Needs (SEN) educators in Mauritius. I wanted to understand what shapes their working lives: the workload, the organisational pressures and the emotional side of the job.
Here's what I found.
🔍 Key findings
• Burnout builds up over time. It came from workload, staff shortages, paperwork, behaviour and safety concerns, emotional labour, slow access to specialists and too little time to recover.
• It is not a sign of weak commitment. These educators care deeply about their learners, and that care often pushes work into their personal time.
• Colleagues were the strongest source of support. Small wins in a learner's communication, independence or behaviour kept people going.
• Emotional support is not the same as practical support. A teacher can be appreciated and still be overworked. Kind managers can't fix staffing, funding or specialist shortages on their own.
• Awareness of SEN rights is growing, but the capacity to deliver on those rights every day hasn't caught up.
💡 Recommendations
1⃣ Base staffing on how complex learners' needs are, not just on how many are enrolled
2⃣ Protect time for planning, documentation and recovery, including support after serious incidents
3⃣ Offer continuous, hands-on training (autism, AAC, sensory regulation, positive behaviour support, crisis response) and mentoring for new teachers
4⃣ Give faster access to psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists
5⃣ Build a layered wellbeing system: supervision, confidential counselling and regular check-ins
6⃣ Give SEN educators a voice in decisions, recognition and clear career paths
7⃣ Track progress with a few meaningful indicators, without creating more paperwork
My main takeaway: teacher wellbeing is not an optional extra in inclusive education. Inclusion can't be delivered consistently and safely without it.
🤝 This is just the beginning. I'm committed to continuing research in the disability and SEN sector, and to supporting the educators, learners and families at its heart. If you work in this field or want to collaborate, I'd love to connect.
A heartfelt thank you to the educators who generously shared their experiences. 🙏
