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Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
Teach academic, social, and life skills to elementary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.
Also Known As:
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher (DHH Teacher)
Emotional Disabilities Teacher
Hearing Impaired Itinerant Teacher (HI Itinerant Teacher)
Learning Support Teacher
Resource Program Teacher
SPED Inclusion Teacher (Special Education Inclusion Teacher)
SPED Resource Teacher (Special Education Resource Teacher)
SPED Teacher (Special Education Teacher)
Severe Emotional Disorders Elementary Teacher (SED Elementary Teacher)
Special Educator
Wages
Annual wages for Special Education Teachers, Elementary School in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
226,100
-2% Change From 2024
Explore Special Education Teachers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Establish and communicate clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects to students.
- Confer with other staff members to plan or schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
- Organize and supervise games or other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, or social development.
- Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations.
- Teach students personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, or self-advocacy.
- Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.
- Instruct students with disabilities in academic subjects, using a variety of techniques, such as phonetics, multisensory learning, or repetition to reinforce learning and meet students' varying needs.
- Encourage students to explore learning opportunities or persevere with challenging tasks to prepare them for later grades.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Prepare objectives, outlines, or other materials for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or school or state requirements.
- Prepare, administer, or grade tests or assignments to evaluate students' progress.
- Administer standardized ability and achievement tests to elementary students with special needs.
- Collaborate with other teachers or administrators to develop, evaluate, or revise elementary school programs.
- Organize and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their perceptual skills.
- Guide or counsel students with adjustment problems, academic problems, or special academic interests.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment or materials to prevent injuries and damage.
- Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes.
- Meet with parents or guardians to discuss their children's progress, advise them on using community resources, or teach skills for dealing with students' impairments.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Monitor teachers or teacher assistants to ensure adherence to special education program requirements.
- Prepare objectives, outlines, or other materials for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or school or state requirements.
- Prepare, administer, or grade tests or assignments to evaluate students' progress.
- Plan or supervise experiential learning activities, such as class projects, field trips, demonstrations, or visits by guest speakers.
- Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, or food preparation.
- Prepare, administer, or grade tests or assignments to evaluate students' progress.
- Interpret the results of standardized tests to determine students' strengths and areas of need.
- Plan or conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment or materials to prevent injuries and damage.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, or teacher training workshops to maintain or improve professional competence.
- Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, or assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, or social development.
- Modify the general elementary education curriculum for students with disabilities.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")