What is Special Education Teaching?

Special Education teaching is not familiar to the general public due to the little exposure and attention it gets from the media. In fact, special educators teach individually designed instruction to students with specific learning disabilities. These students include those who are cognitively impaired, have physical disabilities, loss of sensory such as hearing or vision, have emotional disorders, have speech or language impairments, or diagnosed with autism. Special Education teachers modify curriculum, utilize resources, develop learning plans, and work with other teachers. Teaching may be in a general education class, self contained classroom or in a resource room where students visit for part of the day. Other places that Special Education teachers work in are youth authority facilities and home or hospital settings. In general, Special Education teachers work with 8-16 students with one or more teacher aids if they are in a classroom. Compare this to the regular classrooms that can have up to 50 students in the secondary level and seeing about 200 students over the course of a five period day. Special Education teachers have a difficult job of working with challenged learners, but the resources are plentiful and the case load is much smaller to compensate for the attention given to each student. Special Educators find it most rewarding when they are able to spend quality time and energy focusing on helping students.

How do I become a Special Education Teacher?

For those who are curious about teaching Special Education, the path to becoming fully credentialed is not difficult at all. If you already have a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college, then the next step would be to enroll in a credentialing program. Teachers may choose one of these six credential areas to specialize in: Mild/Moderate, Moderate/Severe, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Visual Impairment, Physical and Health Impairment, or Early Childhood Special Education. The preliminary credential can be completed within one to two years and ultimately the professional clear allows you five years to finish. There will be other requirements like basic skills tests. Since specifics vary from state to state, speak to a university’s credential department to find out all the details.
What is the job market for Special Education teaching?
Choosing Special Education teaching has its advantages over other careers because you could be hired while you complete the coursework . The state of California will issue an emergency credential to very few subject areas for teachers to enter the classroom immediately because of the shortage and Special Education is one of them. Averages of 10-20% job openings go unfilled each year and hiring is ongoing in most school districts. There is a great need for professionals in this field. Consider if this career is for you by volunteering in a special education classroom or completing a service learning program involved with special education.

Financial advantages

For those seeking careers in special education, financial assistance is available from the local and federal government. Special education teachers may qualify for up to $19,000 in forgivable loans if they meet certain conditions. This could be to work at an inner city school for several years. Many think that teachers are very under paid and that could be true in suburban or private settings. Considering that special education teachers work 9 months out of the whole year making on average $44,000, it isn’t as low as we think. The hourly rate would come out to almost $35 dollars an hour. Plus, teaching jobs always include a benefits package that covers health and or dental/vision. If you want a stable job or are looking for a second career teaching special education would be a favorable choice.

What is a Pre-Kindergarten Associate Degree?

One good way to start a career in early childhood education is to get a Pre-Kindergarten Associate Degree. Also known as Pre-K or Early Childhood Development, this program is designed for people who are interested and are passionate about working with young children. Emphasis is provided for training professionals who are competent to work with infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers – basically children up to 5 years of age – with regards to developing children’s cognitive, affective, social, language and communication skills in a classroom environment. Just like any other associate’s degree, one could finish the program within 2 years, that is around 4-5 semesters of courses in pedagogy, early childhood development, developmental psychology, curriculum development and modification, evaluation, and educational material design.

What are the job opportunities of a Pre-Kindergarten Associate Degree?

Lots of career opportunities are open for those who finish a Pre-K Associate Degree. After finishing the degree, one could start out quickly start out as a teacher in daycare centers, Head Start programs, early childhood learning centers, nursery schools, and preschools – basically, entry-level careers in the field. One could also work with community outreach programs, or for specialized establishments that deal with children’s activities. After completing the appropriate bachelor’s degree program, one could then move on to other subspecializations in childhood education, including special education and developmental psychology. As discussed earlier, a Pre-Kindergarten associate degree could also be a lot of help for the beginning parent, especially those who are interested to homeschool their children.

Can a Pre-Kindergarten Associate Degree be finished online?

Definitely, and there are lots of online programs available for the interested student. Just look for Associate degrees majoring in Pre-Kindergarten, Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Development or Child Development Studies and you’re good to go. Just remember that a High School diploma or a GED certificate is needed to apply for an Associate degree.

What are the benefits of taking a Pre-Kindergarten Associate Degree online?

Taking your degree online is a more convenient option that going to a brick-and-mortar school. For starters, you could easily hold an internship position in a daycare center, preschool, or any institution specializing in child development while studying, making it a good option for working students. For those who want to shift careers, online study provides accommodations for life experience and academic credit which could make finishing your associate degree faster. You are also provided a schedule that you could tweak at your own convenience, making learning a self-paced (and easier task).

Quick Reference for Pre-Kindergarten Associate Degree:

• Online degrees: Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Development, Child Development Studies, Pre-Kindergarten

• Duration: 2 years, 4-5 semesters depending on the program

• Job opportunities: Teacher/Teaching Assistant/Childcare Assistant in daycare centers, Head Start Programs, preschools, nursery schools, or community outreach programs

Education Job #1: Do you want to teach?

Of course, being a teacher is the number 1 among education jobs available. Since a teacher is responsible for educating a nation’s youth, teaching positions will always be in demand, making it one of the best online degrees for recession-friendly careers. Teachers could vary according to the content they teach (e.g. Math, Science, Gym, etc.) or by the kind of students they are teaching (e.g. Preschool, High School, etc.) expanding the options available for the would-be job seeker.

Being one of the most popular online learning degree programs, there are online graduate programs and certificates available for those who want to establish a teaching career. An MA in Elementary Education covers the requirements for applying for an elementary teaching accreditation, while an MA in the education of a specific subject (e.g. MA in Math Education) is needed to teach in High School. Some online schools also offer Certificates in Teaching but, depending on the state, the courses available might vary in credit. For international students, teaching units from online programs can be considered, provided that they ask for accreditation in their respective countries.

Education Job #2: Does teaching special needs children interest you?

The United States’ Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has created an unprecedented demand for special education teachers in the country. Similar initiatives are also seen around the world, necessitating the need for more special education teachers. If you’d like to take teaching to a whole new level, then you might consider an education job teaching special needs students.

Most online programs available offer something similar as the other teaching programs. An MA in Special Education suffices for most requirements before accreditation but be mindful that some school districts require a minimum amount of teaching hours before they consider an applicant. Some online universities also offer specialized degree programs in special education, focusing on gifted education, deaf education, and other subfields.

Education Job #3: Are you a psychology major?

If you’re a psychology major who is considering an education job, you’d probably be interested being an educational psychologist. Also one of hottest psychology degrees you could take online, educational psychology is all about the application of psychological methods to issues of learning and teaching. Together with guidance counselors, they are usually employed by schools to perform psychometric tests on students and to maintain the academic integrity of their schools.

An MA in Educational Psychology is available online, but there are also Masters in Science for Psychology programs that major in educational psychology. The difference in the two lies in the colleges they are housed in; usually, an MS Psychology degree is under the Department of Psychology while an MA in Education Psychology is under the school of education. Either program could be considered for an education job in educational psychology, just be mindful of the other employment requirements that schools might ask for.

Education Job #4: Is counseling your passion?

Guidance counselors are responsible for maintaining the well-being of students. They are tapped to manage students’ behavioral and social issues, instill and discover college and career options for students, and perform psychological evaluations for those in need. To differentiate them from the school psychologists, guidance counselors are more holistic in their approaches and are usually not concerned with matters of academic interests.

Online programs in Guidance and Counseling are offered under their respective MA degrees. Some people could also opt to take an online program in Clinical Psychology specializing in child counseling, but that’s a more specialized approach. Also take note that a Certificate in Counseling may not be appropriate for those who want to be school counselors because its program orientation is different.

Education Job #5: Does writing about school subjects interest you?

Curriculum development is another educational job that you could consider. Responsible for the development of curricula across schools, curriculum developers certainly have rewarding, albeit challenging, jobs. They are the ones who standardize the educational philosophies, content, strategies, and evaluations to create an effective school curriculum. This is the profession usually chosen by either by those who have a research background, or by those who have a strong grasp of a given subject matter.

Online programs in Curriculum Development are can usually be found as a major under an MA in Educational Psychology, as a subfield in an MA in Special Education, or as a sole Masters degree. Curriculum developers are usually employed by school districts or by organizations that have specific interests in education.