Education - Special Education
Mild/Moderate or Moderate Intensive Intervention Specialist
Like other curricula in the field of education, a major in special education prepares future teachers to meet the educational needs of children. But special education teachers deal with a very specific population -- children with special learning needs.
This program equips students to teach learners in grades K through 12 who face a variety of learning challenges. Licensure options allow students to specialize in course work that focuses on the severity, rather than the type, of learning challenge (e.g., Learning Disability, Developmentally Handicapped, Behaviorally Handicapped, etc.). This makes the student eligible to pursue a state license as a Mild/Moderate Intervention Specialist.
As such the student is prepared to teach a classroom of students who face learning difficulties that may differ in nature, but are of a similar level of severity. Students can further supplement their teaching skills by pursuing a Reading Endorsement .
In addition to the abilities and skills of the traditional classroom teacher, these intervention specialists need an extraordinary amount of patience and perseverance. They need to have a sense of caring, concern and respect for students with special learning needs. Emotional maturity, stability, a high degree of creativity and the ability to apply creative ideas on a practical level are also important qualities for the special education intervention specialist.
Special education intervention specialists work with other professionals such as school administrators, psychologists, therapists and special education directors as well as family members. They get to know the students educational strengths and needs, then decide which teaching and support techniques to use.
OCCUPATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Administrator
Childcare residential worker
Counselor
Curriculum development specialist
Educational coordinator
Educational consultant
Educational evaluator
Interventionist
Overseas teacher
Pediatric ward teacher
Preschool teacher
Special education teacher (K-12)
Special education supervisor
Work study coordinator
RELATED OCCUPATIONS
Camp director
Editor
Librarian
Media specialist
Occupational therapist
Play therapist
Publisher consultant
Researcher
Social worker
*Some positions may require additional education and licensures.
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK
The number of special education teachers is expected to increase by 15 percent from 2006 to 2016. Although student enrollments in general are expected to grow slowly, continued increases in the number of special education students needing services will generate a greater need for special education teachers. (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos070.htm)
POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS
Audio visual production companies
Camps
Colleges and universities
Community agencies
Department of Education
Department of Defense
Educational assessment clinics
Hospitals
Private schools
Public schools
Publishers
Resident homes
Schools for the handicapped
Self-employment/consultation
State Department
SOURCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Books (* denotes books available in the Career Center Library)
- *Eberts, Marjorie & Gisler, Margaret. Careers for Kids at Heart & Others Who Adore Children, Lincolnwood, IL: VGM Career Horizons, 2000.
- Edelfelt, Roy. Careers in Education, Lincolnwood, IL: VGM Career Horizons, 2004.
- *Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance, Vol. 2, Chicago, IL: Ferguson Publishing Co., 2000.
- Fine, Janet. Opportunities in Teaching Careers, Lincolnwood, IL: VGM Career Horizons, 2005.
- *Gallagher, Joanne & Kersten, Thomas, editors. 2008 Job Search Handbook for Educators, Columbus, OH: American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE), 2008.
- *Morkes, Andrew, editor. Ferguson's Careers in Focus: Writing, Chicago, IL: Ferguson Publishing Co., 2003.
- *Warner, Jack & Bryan, Clyde. Inside Secrets of Finding a Teaching Job, Indianapolis, IN: Park Ave. Publications, 1997.
Professional Associations
- American Federation of Teachers, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001, http://www.aft.org.
- Council for Exceptional Children, 1110 North Glebe Road, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22201, http://www.cec.sped.org.
- National Education Association, 1201 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036-3290, http://www.nea.org.
- National Association of special Education Teachers, 1250 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036, http://www.naset.org.
Web sites
- Occupational Information Network, O*Net Online, http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/25-2041.00.
- Occupational Information Network, O*Net Online, http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/25-2042.00.
- Occupational Information Network, O*Net Online, http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/25-2043.00.
- Ohio Department of Education, http://www.ode.state.oh.us.
- U. S. Department of Education, http://www.ed.gov.
- U. S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos070.htm.