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Teaching for Emotional Disturbances

A program that focuses on the design of educational services for children or adults with emotional conditions which adversely affect their educational performance and that may prepare individuals to teach such students. Includes instruction in identifying students with emotional disturbances, developing individual education plans, teaching and supervising individuals with emotional disturbances, counseling, and applicable laws and policies.

Types of Degrees Teaching for Emotional Disturbances Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Teaching for Emotional Disturbances may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	16
Master’s Degree	110
Doctor’s Degree	8

What Teaching for Emotional Disturbances Majors Need to Know

Programs in Teaching for Emotional Disturbances build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Teaching for Emotional Disturbances graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Teaching for Emotional Disturbances emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Teaching for Emotional Disturbances program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Teaching for Emotional Disturbances careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Teaching for Emotional Disturbances graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	3.9 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	3.8 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	3.8 / 7
Thinking Creatively	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Teaching for Emotional Disturbances professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Screen magnification software	Device drivers or system software	—
Screen reader software	Device drivers or system software	—
Voice activated software	Voice recognition software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Padlet	Computer based training software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Teaching for Emotional Disturbances graduates include:

• Physically Impaired Teacher
• Lip Reading Teacher
• Blind Teacher
• Sign Language Teacher
• Learning Support Teacher
• Braille Teacher
• Special Needs Teacher
• Learning Disabled Teacher
• Learning Specialist
• Reading Specialist
• Resource Specialist
• Hearing Impaired Teacher
• Teacher
• Handicapped Teacher
• Emotionally Impaired Teacher

What Can You Do With a Teaching for Emotional Disturbances Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Teaching for Emotional Disturbances commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Education Teachers, Postsecondary	2.4%	$98,329	$80,157–$116,500

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Teaching for Emotional Disturbances graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	35.2%
Doctoral degree	27.7%
Master’s degree	21.9%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	13.0%
First professional degree	1.0%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.4%
Some college courses	0.2%
Post-master’s certificate	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Teaching for Emotional Disturbances?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 89.6% of Teaching for Emotional Disturbances degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	120	89.6%
Men	14	10.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Teaching for Emotional Disturbances graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	103	76.9%
Asian	2	1.5%
Hispanic or Latino	3	2.2%
Black or African American	6	4.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.7%
Two or More Races	5	3.7%
Race Unknown	13	9.7%
International Students	1	0.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Teaching for Emotional Disturbances Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Teaching for Emotional Disturbances graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$54,981
4 years	$54,220
5 years	$59,983

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $59,983 — roughly 9% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Teaching for Emotional Disturbances Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for Teaching for Emotional Disturbances. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Master’s	3	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Teaching for Emotional Disturbances Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Teaching for Emotional Disturbances graduates earn a median of $54,220 four years after completion — roughly 43% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Special Education and Teaching	33,988
Special Education and Teaching, General	22,116
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Early Childhood Special Education Programs	3,548
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Elementary Special Education Programs	2,055
Art Teacher Education	1,860
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities	1,213
Special Education and Teaching, Other	1,070
Agricultural Teacher Education	1,051
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism	1,002
Bilingual and Multilingual Education	932
Education/Teaching of Individuals in Secondary Special Education Programs	833
Biology Teacher Education	696

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.