Who's Teaching Our Children with Disabilities? Part 4

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National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities

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What do Special Education Teachers Do?

It is difficult to give a simple picture of the daily life of a special educator-- because there is so much variety among teachers. Special educators can have many roles and responsibilities in any given school setting. Their activities each day will be determined by the children they are teaching, the kinds and severity of disabilities those students have, the children's ages, and the setting in which the teachers are working. A high school special education teacher who is co-teaching a class with a general education teacher, a special education teacher in a self-contained middle school classroom for children with emotional and behavior disorders, and an elementary special education teacher in a resource room who has children coming in and out of the classroom all day will all have very different activities and responsibilities. But no matter what setting they are working in or who they are teaching, the special education teachers' responsibilities usually fall into three categories: direct teaching (and preparing for it), preparing appropriate reports and other paperwork, and collaborating with other professionals and parents. Juggling the many demands on their time is a challenging and sometimes frustrating endeavor.

Direct Teaching

One of the primary responsibilities of the special education teacher is to provide instruction and adapt and develop materials to match the learning styles, strengths, and special needs of each of their students. Most special education teachers spend close to the majority of their classroom time actually teaching their students (Allinder, 1994). This does not include the time they spend beyond the regular school day preparing lesson plans, grading papers, and meeting with other professionals. The methods they use, and the learning goals they develop, will be determined by the students' abilities, age, setting, and many other variables.

It has been said that in general education the school system dictates the curriculum, but in special education, the child's individual needs dictate the curriculum (Lieberman, 1985). For example, dressing, eating, and toileting could be a typical part of the curriculum for many students with severe disabilities but are not normally taught in general education classrooms. Similarly, a child who has a hearing impairment may receive special training in sign language, while a child who is blind may need specific instruction in braille. These would obviously not be a part of the typical general education curriculum.

The challenge for special education teachers is to assess how each child learns best and then determine the best way to design or modify instruction so that the child can achieve the expected educational outcome. This can be especially challenging for a teacher who has several students with different disabilities of varying severity in the same classroom. The special education teacher must meet the needs of all of these students. For example, a special education teacher in elementary school could have a class of ten children, two with hearing impairments, one with autism, and six who have varying degrees of developmental delays. This teacher has quite a challenge to develop learning activities and strategies that will be effective for all of his or her students.

Paperwork

Special education teachers have a great deal of paperwork to complete. They have the same kinds of paperwork demands that general education teachers do-- attendance reports, discipline reports, grading homework and tests, just to mention a few. But they are also required to prepare other forms and reports; for example, special education teachers usually play a lead role in preparing the Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student. They also maintain records that document a student's progress toward meeting the goals and objectives specified in the IEP.

Federal, state, and local school district regulations and policies require complete reports of students' placement and progress. Writing up these reports usually falls on the special education teachers. These regulations and policies can change from year to year (and, some say, day to day). And every change can mean a change in the paperwork needed for documentation. Special education teachers who choose to leave teaching often cite the abundance of paperwork as one of the primary contributors to their high level of stress and decision to change jobs (Billingsley, 1993).

The increase in the number of lawsuits filed against school districts concerning the placement and education of children with disabilities has made it even more critical that teachers maintain accurate and complete records.

Collaboration and Consultation

Special education teachers never work completely alone. Even those who work in self-contained classrooms work in some way as part of a team. Some schools have established teams to help plan appropriate adaptations and educational interventions for students who are having difficulty in general education classes.

Depending on a child's disability and the school setting, special education teachers need to work with speech-language pathologists, school psychologists, occupational therapists, school social workers, general education teachers, and community workers to plan and implement the best education strategies for each child. Special education teachers who work in inclusive settings or who co-teach or team-teach with general education teachers must spend enough time to adequately plan, develop, and implement an educational environment that is challenging and appropriate for all the students in the class, those with disabilities and those without.

Special education teachers usually serve as a resource on special education issues to other staff in the school-- teachers, administrators, speech-language pathologists, parents, and others. Not only do they teach their students when they are in the classroom, but they also keep up with them throughout the day, wherever they may be. To do all of this effectively, special education teachers need to maintain positive relationships with the principal, other teachers, and other personnel.

Parents are also an important part of the team. They are the experts on their child. Both parents and teachers have much to contribute to the educational planning for children with disabilities; if they work together, they can be a powerful team.

Special educators can act as a liaison between community agencies or organizations and their school. For example, a teacher may need to work with the local Juvenile Probation Agency with regard to a student. This could involve being the contact in the school for the probation officer who will check on the student's progress and attendance. The teacher can also advise the probation officer of any meetings with the student and coordinate any necessary activities. As another example, a teacher may work with the local independent living agency and the vocational rehabilitation agency to help set up a transition plan for a student getting ready to graduate from school.

All of this collaboration, consultation, and working together requires time, something too many special educators don't have. It is probably true that educators never have enough time to do all they want to do. But it is certainly true that to work effectively, and to be as effective as possible for children with disabilities, special education teachers need the time to work and plan with parents and other professionals. Many special education teachers are not given enough free time in the regular school day to make appointments with other staff members or parents; consequently they may be required to meet outside of regular school hours or during lunch or other breaks. Many special education teachers who leave the classroom say that one of the reasons they did so was the lack of time to meet all of their responsibilities (Billingsley, 1993).

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