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Teaching for Mental Retardation

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

Types of Degrees Teaching for Mental Retardation Majors Are Earning

Those studying Teaching for Mental Retardation can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	56
Master’s Degree	25

What Teaching for Mental Retardation Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Teaching for Mental Retardation emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Teaching for Mental Retardation graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Teaching for Mental Retardation 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

Skills built by a Teaching for Mental Retardation 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

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Teaching for Mental Retardation 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 Mental Retardation 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 Mental Retardation professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet 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 Mental Retardation graduates include:

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

What Can You Do With a Teaching for Mental Retardation Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Teaching for Mental Retardation 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 Mental Retardation 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 Mental Retardation?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 87.7% of Teaching for Mental Retardation degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	71	87.7%
Men	10	12.3%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	68	84.0%
Asian	1	1.2%
Hispanic or Latino	4	4.9%
Black or African American	2	2.5%
Two or More Races	1	1.2%
Race Unknown	4	4.9%
International Students	1	1.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Teaching for Mental Retardation Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Teaching for Mental Retardation 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 Mental Retardation Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Teaching for Mental Retardation. 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
Bachelor’s	1	2
Master’s	2	1

^{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 Mental Retardation Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Teaching for Mental Retardation 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.