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Your Career in Special Education
What do special educators do?
Special educators are highly trained professionals who provide
specifically designed instruction and services to children with
disabilities. They adapt and develop materials to match the special
needs of each student and use a variety of teaching strategies to ensure
that students with disabilities reach their learning potential.
Special education professionals are:
- Creative problem solvers
- Masters of learning styles and teaching strategies
- Team players
- Intelligent, organized, and flexible
- Lifelong learners
- Prepared to meet the challenges of their profession with confidence
and enthusiasm
Trained to look beyond students' disabilities to their potential,
special educators can make a real difference in the lives of their
students.
Where do special educators work?
Special educators work in many different environments. A small
percentage work in private schools, residential facilities, hospitals
and clinics, or in the students' homes. The majority, however, work in
the public schools. Within these schools, special educators work in a
variety of settings, including:
- Self-contained classrooms. Only 20% of students with
disabilities spend the majority of their school day in a classroom
specifically set aside for children with disabilities.
- Resource rooms. Most special education teachers work in resource
rooms, where they provide specialized instruction to students with
disabilities who come in for part of the school day, either individually
or in small groups.
- General education classrooms. An increasing number of schools are
using an inclusion model, in which students with disabilities receive
most, if not all, of their instruction in a general education classroom.
In these settings, special educators work closely with general education
teachers to meet the needs of the students.
Why should YOU consider a career in special education?
- You want a career that allows you to help others. Being a
special educator allows you to make a positive difference in the lives
of children with disabilities. With the help of special educators, an
increasing number of children with disabilities have succeeded in school
and enrolled in college.
- Being a special educator gives you the opportunity to use many
talents and skills creatively and to grow both professionally and
personally.
- The need for special education professionals has never been
greater. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the need for
qualified special educators and related service personnel will increase
"faster than most other professions" in the next 10 years. And the U.S.
Department of Education reports "The number of students with
disabilities served under IDEA continues to increase at a rate higher
than both the general population and school enrollment." Read about the
need for special education professionals.
- The personal rewards of educating children and youth with
disabilities is greater than you can ever imagine.
Special educators, instruction, children with disabilities, teaching strategies, schools, self-contained classrooms, resource rooms, general education classrooms |
Related Documents
Career Center/Job Fair Prospectus
A National Symposium: Policy and Practice to Ensure Highly Quality Teachers (Adobe PDF File)
The Importance of Induction and Support Programs for New Special Educators (Adobe PDF File)
Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education
Educators with Disabilities Caucus of the CEC, Application for Membership (Adobe PDF File)
Facilitator Guidelines: A Quick Reference on Active Facilitation Techniques (Adobe PDF File)
Increasing Career Success for People with Disabilities (Adobe PDF File)
Making a Difference in the Lives of Students with Special Needs (Adobe PDF File)
Occupational Therapist :: Making a Difference (Adobe PDF File)
Paraeducator :: Making a Difference (Adobe PDF File)
Percent of Special Education Teachers by Racial Group 1999-2000 (Adobe PDF File)
Percentage of Public Elementary and Secondary Students by Race/Ethnicity (Adobe PDF File)
Percentage of Students Ages 3-21 in Special Education by Race and Ethnicity 1999-2000 (Adobe PDF File)
Physical Therapist :: Making a Difference (Adobe PDF File)
Proceeding of the National Symposium: Policy and Practice June 2001 (Adobe PDF File)
School Social Worker :: Making a Difference (Adobe PDF File)
Special Educators :: Innovative Organized Confident Flexible (Adobe PDF File)
Strategies Recruiting and Supporting Underrepresented Groups (Adobe PDF File)
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