Special Education Teachers, Preschool

Overview

Special Education Teachers, Preschool has a national median salary of $64,830 per year, with +2.4% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Teach academic, social, and life skills to preschool-aged 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.

Work Values

• Relationships
• Achievement
• Independence

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
• Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement.
• Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations.
• Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
• Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, or changing their diapers.

Work Activities

• Assisting and Caring for Others
• Developing and Building Teams
• Documenting/Recording Information
• Getting Information
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Coaching and Developing Others
• Communicating with People Outside the Organization

Detailed Work Activities

• Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
• Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished a master's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Master's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for a bachelor's degree.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Special Education Teachers, Preschool:

Video Resources