A Brief History of the Special Education Major
The special education major emerged over time as a subspecialty of education, notably after Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975. The Act aimed to protect the rights of children with mental and physical disabilities and help meet their special, individualized needs so they, too, could receive an education alongside other children. Since that time, the Act has been amended and expanded, and the body of research into various physical disabilities, emotional disorders and learning disabilities has grown. Therefore, it became easier for educators to identify the signs pointing to a need for special education and practice early intervention.
As best practices began to be outlined, the special education major grew and developed, incorporating bodies of work that defined those best practices. In 1970, U.S. schools only educated 1 in 5 children with disabilities and some states had laws barring students who were blind, deaf, had emotional problems or mental disabilities; today, nearly 6 million children receive special education, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Today, the major prepares teachers to build on this tradition of educating students with disabilities by implementing the best and most effective methods of teaching students with special needs.
Delving Into the Special Education Major
Students pursuing a major in special education will be trained through traditional education major courses, such as child psychology, human development, lesson planning and methods for teaching math, science and reading. However, they must also complete a number of courses that are specific to special education students. Those courses might include foundations of special education, early intervention, diversity and inclusion, legal issues in special education, psychoeducational assessment practices, and behavioral management and collaboration.
These courses build a future educator’s skills in classroom management and in assessing and evaluating a special education student’s progress in various academic subjects. The course material and textbooks focus on teaching future educators how to adapt lessons for children and teens with certain disabilities. At the bachelor’s level, a student majoring in special education fills out his or her college education with electives and general education courses in the liberal arts for a well-rounded education, including college algebra, college writing, communications, physical education, arts, social science and philosophy.
In addition to completing all necessary general education courses, major courses and electives, students must completing a teaching practicum, better known as student teaching. The student teaching experience allows special education majors the chance to run their own classrooms under the observation of a mentor, a certified special education teacher. The student will also have opportunities to observe certified special education teachers in action, and learn from their experience. For a final project, many special education major programs require students to complete a professional portfolio in special education.
Degree Levels:
Associate
While an associate degree alone will not be enough to qualify you for special education teacher certification, it can certainly help you get a feel for the subject and help qualify you for a four-year teacher education program in special education at a four-year college or university. General education courses build up a student’s knowledge in English composition, communication, the humanities, fine arts and social sciences.
Students also take courses in psychology of human development for teachers, introduction to education, introduction to special education, group dynamics, and special education assessment. Electives might include a field study in education, life span psychology, abnormal psychology, behavior modification and safety and first aid.
Most special education degrees at the associate level emphasize elementary education. The two-year degree is designed to lay a foundation for theoretical knowledge and practical skills in teaching, and may qualify some students for careers at paraprofessionals in teaching.
Bachelor’s
The bachelor’s degree is the most common path to becoming certified as a special education teacher in the United States. Bachelor’s degrees in special education may take longer to complete than a traditional teacher education degree because of the additional preparation special education teachers need, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Standard programs equip teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to teach students with mild to moderate disabilities.
Included in a bachelor’s education is instruction on how to maintain control of today’s classrooms, which can become quite rowdy if a teacher doesn’t have strategies in place to manage interruptions. Alongside learning methods of adapting curriculum for special education students, teachers-in-training will also learn methods of making sure that special needs students feel included and integrated with the rest of their classmates and are learning the same material, just in a different style. The coursework builds from basic to advanced skills in teaching special education students.
Master’s
Students pursuing the special education major at the master’s level may be doing so to fulfill state requirements to teach special education students, as some states require special education teachers to hold master’s degrees. More often, though, they are advancing their studies in special education to improve upon their teaching methods and begin conducting research into an area of special education.
Students will be given the opportunity to concentrate in a specific area, such as autism, special education technologies, languages and cultural issues, or a customized concentration of their choice. In rigorous course work, students will explore principles of an inclusive classroom, high incident disabilities, pervasive developmental disorders and integrative technology for assisting special education students. Students will also take four to five concentration courses in the area of their specialty. For example, if your concentration was autism, you might take courses that explore high-functioning autism, communication interventions and advanced behavior support.
Doctorate
At the doctoral level, the special education major gets more specialized than ever. Some students may be transitioning out of teaching and into careers as college educators, scholarly writers, researchers or consultants, while others are transitioning into administrative positions within special education. Doctoral programs in special education are designed to cultivate leadership skills so that special education teachers can better serve and advocate for the growing number of special needs students.
The major builds on what students already know, providing advanced instruction in special education administration, instructional strategies, law and finance. Students who are moving up into director positions may take courses in teacher supervision and evaluation as well as curriculum selection and development for special education programs. Doctoral students, online or otherwise, typically must participate in one or more on-campus residencies and all are required to conduct research and complete a dissertation.
Supplementing Your Special Education Major
Special education teachers are very much in demand in school districts across the nation, but if you want to make your degree more versatile, it’s important that you sit down with an academic advisor and discuss a minor that will best fit in with the type of work you would like to do. Some of the most effective minors for students interested in special education include: social work, early intervention, psychology, communication disorders or speech language pathology/audiology.
A minor in social work is useful if you one day decide to move out of teaching and into social work, working with children with disabilities and their parents. Your special education training is handy for this position in helping you assess a child’s needs and connect the child and his/her parents to the best programs to serve those needs. Early intervention is a great minor for those who want to enter careers as early intervention specialists or other careers in integrative developmental services.
Psychology is a great minor to help you explore the science of the mind and brain, helping you to be better able to get to the root of emotional and behavioral problems in children. It can also be an inroad to psychology master’s programs, which can help you transition into counseling or consulting special needs children. A minor in communication disorders gives students an overview of the types of disorders that might affect special education students, causing difficulties in their ability to communicate or causing them to be nonverbal.
Courses in this minor might include language theory and phonetics, and evaluation and therapy for disorders of articulation. Finally, a minor in speech language pathology/audiology introduces students to clinical audiology, the anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing, and normal language development. This is great for opening up careers for working with the deaf or hard of hearing.
Learn More About the Special Education Major
- U.S. News & World Report
- Open courses pertaining to special learning populations and special education
- The Journal of Special Education
- International Journal of Special Education
- Journal of Special Education Technology
- College Board
The Special Education Major in the Job Market
The special education major, if it is part of a teacher education program, directly prepares students for careers as special education teachers. And since you can’t teach special education without a college education and state certification, it is a vital step in the path to your career. Teaching special needs students requires a level of training beyond what is taught in a typical education major, which is why education majors who want to go on to teach special education would do well to either complete a post-bachelor’s certification in special education or transition into a full-fledged special education program.
People with a degree in special education have been equipped with directly applicable job skills, including skills in lesson planning and adapting lessons for special needs students; skills for teaching certain subjects, such as math, science, reading, and social studies; skills in assessing and evaluating a special education student’s academic and social progress; and skills for helping special education students feels included with the rest of their classmates who do not have disabilities. After all, it’s one thing to be able to teach a special education student, it’s another thing entirely to be able to cultivate an inclusive classroom.
Special education teachers work at public, private, charter and religious schools. They may also work in private alternative learning centers, mental health facilities and residential therapeutic camps. Some even work as private in-home tutors or teachers. Other potential careers for graduates of special education programs include intervention specialist for mild/moderate disabilities, intervention specialist for moderate/severe disabilities, small group instructor, special education supervisor, director or administrator, staff development coordinator, evaluators, or teachers who specialize exclusively with certain types of disabilities, such as hearing-impaired students, blind students or physically disabled students.
Employment of special education teachers is projected to grow faster than average, as many school districts report a shortage of such teachers and the number of special education students is on the rise, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Particularly in demand are special education teachers that are bilingual. Those looking for jobs in special education can search for jobs at their local school districts or search the job board provided by the Council for Exceptional Children. Another good place to search for jobs in special education is SchoolSpring.com, a job board that includes job listings for all different types of teachers, but has a search function that allows you to search for special education jobs.
Careers I Can Get with This Degree:
