Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Special Education Teachers, Elementary School

Special Education Teachers, Elementary School: Career Profile

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.

What Do Special Education Teachers, Elementary School Perform?

The day-to-day responsibilities of special education teachers, elementary school cover:

  • 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.
  • Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
  • Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
  • Modify the general elementary education curriculum for students with disabilities.
  • Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations.
  • Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.
  • Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
  • Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, or assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.

Skills and Knowledge

Effective special education teachers, elementary school combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

These are the skills most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Instructing  4.2 / 5
0
5
Speaking  4.2 / 5
0
5
Active Listening  4.2 / 5
0
5
Reading Comprehension  4.1 / 5
0
5
Social Perceptiveness  4.1 / 5
0
5
Learning Strategies  4.1 / 5
0
5

Knowledge Areas

Education and Training  4.8 / 5
0
5
English Language  4.6 / 5
0
5
Customer and Personal Service  4.2 / 5
0
5
Computers and Electronics  4.0 / 5
0
5
Mathematics  3.8 / 5
0
5
Administration and Management  3.6 / 5
0
5

Types of Special Education Teachers, Elementary School Jobs

People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:

  • APE Teacher (Adapted Physical Education Teacher)
  • Academic Interventionist
  • Behavior Interventionist
  • Behavior Specialist
  • Blind Teacher
  • Braille Teacher
  • Cross-Categorical SPED Teacher (Cross-Categorical Special Education Teacher)
  • Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher (DHH Teacher)

How Many Special Education Teachers, Elementary School Are There?

There are roughly 199,543 special education teachers, elementary school working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to decline by -0.2% over the projection horizon.

Forecasted number of jobs for Special Education Teachers, Elementary School

How Much Do Special Education Teachers, Elementary School Make?

Statistic Value
Annual median $50,045
Hourly median $24.06
10th percentile $30,165
25th percentile $40,105
75th percentile $59,986
90th percentile $69,926

Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.

Salary ranges for Special Education Teachers, Elementary School

Tech Stack

  • Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
  • Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
  • Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
  • Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
  • Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)

What the Workplace Is Like

The work environment for special education teachers, elementary school is shaped by the following characteristics:

  • E-Mail
  • Contact With Others
  • Physical Proximity
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team

How to Become Special Education Teachers, Elementary School

Most special education teachers, elementary school positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Similar Occupations

Similar Occupations

Where to Study

Aspiring special education teachers, elementary school typically earn programs in:

Education

13 programs across 1 majors

Sources

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
  • BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
  • O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 25-2056.00 (Special Education Teachers, Elementary School).

Find Teaching Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited education & teaching schools across the U.S.