| Careers
in Special Education |
So you’re thinking about a career
in special education. You’re probably now wondering how you find out
more information about potential jobs in this field. You’ve read about
some general information regarding careers in special education but
now you want to know the good stuff: how much does it pay? By visiting
the links listed on this page you will access almost all of the information
you are likely seeking. You will see average salaries per state for
special educators, you will get to know more about what special educator
do, you will see college and university programs for degrees in special
education, and much more. So read on and explore the sites listed
for answers to all of your questions. If you still have questions
after doing some research, the special education teacher in your school
is a great resource!
The
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the leading national professional
organization in special education (http://www.sped.org).
The CEC has received money from the United States Department of Education
to create a web site dedicated to recruiting people into special education
and related fields. This resource, called the National Clearinghouse
for Professions in Special Education (NCPSE), has a great deal of
information on all careers associated with special education, as well
as resources for school administrators and college faculty involved
in teacher recruitment. On this page, we want to focus specifically
on teachers and paraprofessionals, or paraeducators, through the links
on the Clearinghouse’s career choices page
at http://www.special-ed-careers.org/career_choices/index.html.
*ACTIVITY*
If
you haven’t done so already, click on the career choices
in the special education link. Please visit each of the links
on the left side of the page and answer the simple questions
listed below:
- Who
educates students with disabilities?
- Click
on The special education workforce. Under this link,
make sure you take a careful look at the information under
the link for special education teachers and paraeducators
- Is
Special Education the career for me?
- Why
people become special educators
- What
special educators do
- About
the students
- Occupational
outlook and typical salaries
- Meet
some special educators
- Talk
to a professional
- What
is my next step?
(By the way we’ll give you more information about this
in the section of this website entitled “University Personnel
Preparation Programs”)
- College
and university programs
- Federal
money to become a special educator
- Financial
aid resources
- State
licensure requirements
|
*ACTIVITY*
Now
that you have reviewed the Careers in Special Education site,
answer the following questions.
- What
new information did you learn about paraeducators?
- What
is the average salary of special education teachers in Kentucky…in
the United States?
- What
does the job market for special education teachers look like
over ten years or so?
- Why
do people become special education teachers?
|
NICHCY (The National
Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities): http://www.nichcy.org/ is the national
information and referral center that provides information on disabilities
and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals.
It has developed a report entitled “Who's Teaching Our Children with Disabilities?”
that provides an overview of special
education as a career.
*ACTIVITY*
Click
on the
report and read at least the section “What do special
education teachers do?” on
page 6-8 and the five “Days in the life of…” special education teachers on pages 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. Finally, look
at the section entitled “What do special education teachers
like about teaching?” on page 14 and 15.
After
reading, “Who’s teaching our children with disabilities?” answer
these questions.
- Which
of the five stories of a typical day in the life of a special
education teacher appealed to you the most and why?
- Did
you learn anything new about what special education teachers
do?
- Also
what impressed you in the discussion of what special education
teachers like about teaching?
|
Now that you know
more about special education as a career, you may want find out more
about some of the college programs
that prepare special education teachers here in Kentucky.
Link
to next section: Careers in Community Service
Back to Careers Introduction