A special education teacher program is a postsecondary degree program designed to prepare students to work with students who have disabilities or special needs. Some programs focus on one particular type of disability, such as severe disabilities, developmental disabilities, or learning disabilities.
Most programs include coursework in teaching strategies related to working with students with disabilities and in specific subject areas, such as language arts or mathematics. Students may also participate in an internship.
Special education is a field that is in high demand across the United States and all over the world. As such, aspiring teachers who want to make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities must first obtain the right training, which usually comes in the form of a special education teacher certification program.
A special education teacher certification program is designed to teach you the skills you need to work with students who have a wide range of physical, cognitive, emotional and social impairments. Through classroom courses and hands-on fieldwork, these programs will prepare you to work with students from preschool all the way through high school.
The coursework includes not only methods for teaching students with special needs but also how to integrate them into general education classrooms and how to design individualized instruction plans for each student. You will also learn about behavior management techniques and how to assess student progress.
Aside from the regular coursework required for teacher certification, these programs often focus on specific subjects like math or science that are related to your future career goals. You will also need to choose an area of focus such as early childhood education (preschool through 3rd grade), elementary (grades 1-6) or secondary (grades 7-12).
Special education programs are designed to help students with special needs get the most out of their school experience. Special education teachers work one-on-one or with small groups of students to help them succeed, often working with other professionals, like psychologists, to help support student needs.
Special education programs are designed to help students with disabilities learn the same curriculum as their non-disabled peers. These programs are for students who have physical, mental, or emotional impairments that make it difficult for them to experience success in a traditional classroom setting.
Special education teachers work with students who have a wide range of learning, mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. They adapt general education lessons and teach various subjects, such as reading, writing, and math, to students with mild and moderate disabilities. They also teach basic skills, such as literacy and communication techniques, to students with severe disabilities.
Earning a bachelor’s degree in special education prepares graduates for entry-level positions working with children in grades K-12 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emotional disturbance (ED), deafness/blindness, specific learning disability (SLD), orthopedic impairment, traumatic brain injury (TBI), multiple disabilities (MD), developmental delay (DD), visual impairment (VI) including blindness, hearing impairment including deafness, intellectual disability (ID), speech or language impairment (SI/LI) including deaf-blindness.
A special ed teaching credential is a type of certification that allows you to teach students with special needs. You’ll need to have a bachelor’s degree or higher and typically complete a teacher preparation program to qualify for the credential. Although requirements for the credential can vary by state, in some cases, you’ll also need to pass a background check and an examination. The special ed teaching credential authorizes you to teach students with mild/moderate disabilities, moderate/severe disabilities or both mild/moderate and moderate/severe disabilities. These credentials are valid for five years and may be renewed if you complete certain requirements during this time period.