High School Special Education Teachers
Teach high school students with educational or physical disabilities.
Quick Facts
View All Career Information
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Wages & Outlook
Typical Wages
Data not available
Employment
Where do High School Special Education Teachers most often work?
Current Demand
No data available.
Future Demand
No data available.
On the Job
High School Special Education Teachers work with high school students who have a wide range of physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Encourage students.
- Apply multiple teaching methods.
- Teach life skills.
- Teach others to use technology or equipment.
- Teach vocational courses.
- Tutor students who need extra assistance.
- Attend training sessions or professional meetings to develop or maintain professional knowledge.
- Collaborate with other teaching professionals to develop educational programs.
- Discuss problems or issues with supervisors.
- Develop instructional objectives.
Typical Working Conditions
- Using e-mail.
- Working with a group or team.
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
- Freedom to make decisions without supervision.
- The freedom to determine tasks, priorities, and goals.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Being in situations in which conflicts arise.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Education & Credentials
Educational Requirements
Bachelor's degree
Education level attained (national data)
Education Level Attained (national data)| Education Level Attained | Percentage of workers in this occupation |
|---|
| Less than high school diploma | 0.3 |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 3.7 |
| Some college, no degree | 6.9 |
| Associate degree | 3.8 |
| Bachelors degree | 35.2 |
| Masters degree | 46.8 |
| Doctoral (Ph.D) or professional degree | 3.4 |
Work Experience and Training Requirements
Nationally, this career typically requires:
- No related work experience for entry.
- Little or no on-the-job training to become competent.
Current Training Opportunities
Related Programs
Majors
Click on any of the Majors listed below to find out more about preparing for this
career.
Transfer Options
Enrolling in a community college can be a great place to start your four-year degree. While all 31 Minnesota State community colleges,
technical colleges and universities offer all or part of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum
(a 40-credit package of general education courses accepted for transfer to other state colleges and universities, the University of Minnesota,
and some private colleges and universities), not all two-year colleges offer degrees intended to transfer to a four-year bachelor's degree.
If you plan to transfer to obtain a four-year bachelor's degree, it is important to know which degree path is right for you:
- Associate of Arts (AA) degrees offered at community colleges are designed to transfer into liberal arts four-year majors.
- Associate of Science (AS) and Associate of Fine Arts (AFA) degrees offered at community and technical colleges transfer into specific four-year majors and will likely require completing additional general education courses at a university.
- Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees offered at technical and community colleges are not designed to transfer. They lead to immediate entry into the workplace.
- Diplomas and certificates offered at technical colleges are not designed to transfer. They lead to immediate entry into the workplace.
Talk to a transfer specialist as early as possible to determine the best associate degree for your goals. Be sure to review your Degree Audit Report (DARS) each semester to best prepare for transfer. Get more help understanding transfer using the tools below.
Licenses
Licenses are knowledge and skill credentials that are legally required in some careers.
This occupation requires a license.
Teaching License, Various Types
Helpful High School Courses
Examples of helpful classes that help you prepare for this career:
- Child Development
- Computer Applications
- Cultural/Ethnic Studies
- English Composition
- Geography
- Health Education
- History
- Political Science
- Public Speaking
- Safety and First Aid
- Sociology
- World Languages
In Minnesota, your school may have developed a Program of Study in this career area.
A Program of Study is an academic and career plan developed by your high school to help move you towards a career
and college path. A Program of Study can help you:
- Select high school classes that prepare you for college and getting a job
- Understand how the classes you're taking in high school lead to a career
- Identify extra-curricular activities that are related to your career interest
- See what classes at your school offer early college credit that will save you time and money towards your college expenses
- Graduate from high school prepared for your next step toward the career you choose
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Skills & Knowledge
Most Important Skills for High School Special Education Teachers
- Understanding How People Learn—Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Being Aware of Others—Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Listening—Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring Performance—Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading—Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Thinking Critically—Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Writing—Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Helping Others—Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Learning New Things—Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Speaking—Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Most Important Knowledge Areas for High School Special Education Teachers
- Education and Training—Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language—Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Customer and Personal Service—Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Psychology—Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Computers and Electronics—Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Geography—Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Clerical—Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- Therapy and Counseling—Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Mathematics—Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Sociology and Anthropology—Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
Interests
Different careers may be a good fit for your personality or interests. This career is:
- Social—Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
- Investigative—Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Learn more about your interests. Take the MnCareers Interest Assessment.
Describe Your Skills
People who have worked in this career typically perform the following tasks.
These statements can help a prospective employer understand what you can do, on a resume or during an interview.
- Creating and maintaining interpersonal relationships.
- Organizing, planning, and prioritizing work.
- Coaching and developing other people.
- Training and teaching other people.
- Making decisions or solving problems.
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards.
- Collecting information from different sources.
- Using computers.
Careers that Use Similar Skills
The following careers use skills, knowledge, and abilities that are similar to those used for High School Special Education Teachers.
View more careers in the Education and Training cluster
View more careers in the Teaching and Training pathway
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
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Jobs
Real-time job data provided by Gartner TalentNeuron
Job Title Examples
Intervention Specialist,
Preschool Special Education Teacher,
Resource Teacher,
Career and Transition Teacher,
Early Childhood Special Education Teacher (EC Special Education Teacher),
Early Interventionist,
Exceptional Student Education Teacher (ESE Teacher),
High School Special Education Teacher,
Inclusion Teacher,
Learning Disabilities Teacher (LD Teacher),
Middle School Special Education Teacher,
SED Elementary Teacher (Severe Emotional Disorders Elementary Teacher),
Teacher of the Handicapped
Where Do High School Special Education Teachers Work?
High School Special Education Teachers often work in the following industries.
Similar Careers
Below are careers that use skill sets that are similar to High School Special Education Teachers.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
