Special and Early Childhood Education
Special Education
Trained to look beyond students’ disabilities, special educators provide specifically designed instruction and services to children with disabilities in a variety of different environments.
As a special education student, you will learn a variety of teaching strategies to develop and adapt materials to match the special needs of each student maximizing their potential.
Undergraduate Program
Special Education: (CC-ECSE-EC) 3 Licenses: Cross-Categorical (CC) Grades PK-12; Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Grades Birth to 3; Early Childhood Regular Education (EC) Grades Birth to 3
Students will be prepared to support students identified with a range of disabilities.
American Sign Language and Deaf Culture Certificate
American sign language (ASL), a visual-spatial language used by a large percentage of the deaf people in the United States and Canada, has gained popularity within the last decade. ASL is used with young children with and without disabilities to enhance communication, decrease behavioral issues, and increase emergent literacy.
Careers in Special Education
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Where do special educators work?
- Self-contained classrooms–Only 20% of students with disabilities spend the majority of their school day in a classroom specifically set aside for children with disabilities.
- Resource rooms–Most special education teachers work in resource rooms, where they provide specialized instruction to students with disabilities who come in for part of the school day, either individually or in small groups.
- General education classrooms–An increasing number of schools are using an inclusion model, in which students with disabilities receive most, if not all, of their instruction in a general education classroom. In these settings, special educators work closely with general education teachers to meet the needs of the students.
Teachers Needed | Highest Licensure Need in Wisconsin
Cross-categorical special education is the highest need licensure area in the State of Wisconsin.
Why should YOU consider a career in special education?
- You want a career that allows you to help others. Being a special educator allows you to make a positive difference in the lives of children with disabilities. With the help of special educators, an increasing number of children with disabilities have been succeeding in school and enrolling in college.
- Being a special educator gives you the opportunity to use many talents and skills creatively and to grow both professionally and personally.
- The need for special education professionals has never been greater. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the need for qualified special educators and related service personnel will increase “faster than most other professions” in the next 10 years. And the U.S. Department of Education reports “The number of students with disabilities served under IDEA continues to increase at a rate higher than both the general population and school enrollment.” In Wisconsin, there is a strong demand for special education teachers.
- The personal rewards of educating children and youth with disabilities is greater than you can ever imagine.
