High School
If you are considering a career as a special education teacher, you should focus on courses that will prepare you for college. These classes include natural and social sciences, mathematics, and English. Speech classes would also be a good choice for improving your communication skills. Finally, classes in psychology might help you understand the students you will eventually teach and prepare you for college-level psychology course work.
Postsecondary Training
All states require that teachers have at least a bachelor's degree and that they complete a prescribed number of subject and education credits. It is increasingly common for special education teachers to complete an additional fifth year of training after they receive their bachelor's degree. Many states require special education teachers to get a master's degree in special education.
Hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States offer programs in special education, including undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs. These programs include general and specialized courses in special education, including educational psychology, legal issues of special education, child growth and development, and knowledge and skills needed for teaching students with disabilities. The student typically spends the last year of the program student teaching in an actual classroom, under the supervision of a licensed teacher.
Certification
The American Academy of Special Education Professionals offers a certificate of advanced professional development to teachers who "wish to demonstrate a commitment to excellence to employers, peers, administrators, other professionals, and parents." Applicants must complete the following courses to receive the certificate: Review of the Major Principles of Special Education; Principles of IEP Development; Understanding Assessment in Special Education; Understanding Response to Intervention; and Special Education Eligibility. Contact the academy for more information.
Other Education or Training
Workshops, webinars, classes, conferences, and other continuing education options are available from the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, Childhood Education International, Council for Exceptional Children, and the National Association of Special Education Teachers. Contact these organizations for more information. Special education teachers can also seek out continuing education opportunities via professional associations at the state and local levels.
- Adapted Physical Education Specialists
- Adult and Vocational Education Teachers
- Art Teachers
- Athletic Directors
- Biophysicists
- Book Editors
- Career and Employment Counselors
- Career and Employment Technicians
- Child Care Service Owners
- Child Care Workers
- Child Life Specialists
- Children's Librarians
- College Administrators
- College Professors
- Community Nutrition Educators
- Computer Trainers
- Cooking Instructors
- Curriculum Coordinators
- Dance School Owners and Managers
- Distance Learning Coordinators
- Driving School Owners and Instructors
- Education Directors and Museum Teachers
- Edupreneurs
- Elementary School Teachers
- English as a Second Language (ESL) Teachers
- Environmental Education Program Directors
- Flight Instructors
- Guidance Counselors
- Health Educators
- Instructional Coordinators
- Instructional Designers
- Journalism Teachers
- Learning Innovations Designers
- Library and Information Science Instructors
- Mathematics Teachers
- Music Teachers
- Nannies
- Neonatal Nurses
- Nursing Instructors
- Pediatric Dentists
- Pediatricians
- Physical Education Teachers
- Preschool Teachers
- School Administrators
- School Nurses
- Secondary School Teachers
- Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
- Speech-Language Pathology Assistants
- Teacher Aides
- Tutors and Trainers