Education, Training, and Library · Holland code SIA
Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
Teach academic, social, and life skills to elementary school 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.
Also called: Learning Support Teacher, Resource Program Teacher, SPED Resource Teacher (Special Education Resource Teacher), SPED Teacher (Special Education Teacher), Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher (DHH Teacher), Emotional Disabilities Teacher, Hearing Impaired Itinerant Teacher (HI Itinerant Teacher), Severe Emotional Disorders Elementary Teacher (SED Elementary Teacher).
O*NET 25-2056.00
At a glance
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 51% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Instruct students with disabilities in academic subjects, using a variety of techniques, such as phonetics, multisensory learning, or repetition to reinforce learning and meet students' varying needs.
- Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Modify the general elementary education curriculum for students with disabilities.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations.
- Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
- Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, or assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening4.3 / 5
- Speaking4.3 / 5
- Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
- Learning Strategies4.1 / 5
- Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
- Writing3.8 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Education and Training4.8 / 5
- English Language4.6 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service4.2 / 5
- Computers and Electronics4.0 / 5
- Mathematics3.8 / 5
- Administration and Management3.6 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic21
- Investigative49
- Artistic44
- Social100
- Enterprising13
- Conventional41
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- special educational needs coordinator · DE Koordinator für Sonderpädagogik/Koordinatorin für Sonderpädagogik · FR enseignant référent pour la scolarisation des élèves handicapés/enseignante référente pour la scolarisation des élèves handicapés
- special educational needs teacher · DE Sonderpädagoge/Sonderpädagogin · FR enseignant spécialisé/enseignante spécialisée
- special educational needs itinerant teacher · DE mobiler Sonderpädagoge/mobile Sonderpädagogin · FR enseignant spécialisé intervenant à domicile/enseignante spécialisée intervenant à domicile
- special educational needs teacher primary school · DE Sonderpädagoge Primarstufe/Sonderpädagogin Primarstufe · FR instituteur spécialisé d’école primaire/institutrice spécialisée d’école primaire
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Education advisers and school inspectors (2323)39,000 employed
- Special and additional needs education teaching professionals (2316)125,400 employed
- Other educational professionals n.e.c (2329)104,900 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €61,714 |
| Germany | €59,529 |
| Ireland | €56,877 |
| Austria | €55,374 |
| Netherlands | €53,595 |
| Sweden | €43,567 |
| France | €41,515 |
| Spain | €35,735 |
| Italy | €33,649 |
| Portugal | €26,072 |
| Poland | €14,380 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Related careers
- Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
- Special Education Teachers, Middle School
- Special Education Teachers, Preschool
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
- Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors
Is it a fit for you?
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