Teaching Assistants, Special Education
Under the title Teaching Assistants, Special Education, workers assist a preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher to provide academic, social, or life skills to students who have learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. You may also need to provide assistance to students with special needs. With a code of SCA, this is mostly a job for people drawn to helping, teaching or caring for people. Conventional interests also help, rated 3.6 out of 7. Plan on one or two years of vocational training, an apprenticeship or an associate’s degree; O*NET labels this medium preparation. Strength in active listening, speaking, and social perceptiveness helps most here. People who want helping, teaching or caring for people usually fit better here than those who need hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world.
What they do
Assist a preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher to provide academic, social, or life skills to students who have learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Serve in a position for which a teacher has primary responsibility for the design and implementation of educational programs and services.
Main tasks
- Provide assistance to students with special needs.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips.
- Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- Carry out therapeutic regimens, such as behavior modification and personal development programs, under the supervision of special education instructors, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists.
- Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
Skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You like clear rules and getting the details right.
- You are willing to put in a year or two of focused training.
- You are comfortable relying on active listening and speaking.
May not suit you if
- You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
- You want to work with your hands for most of the day. Realistic rates 2.0 out of 7 here.
- You need to start within a few months, with no training period.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SCA takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.
Preparation
Medium preparation. Expect vocational school, an apprenticeship, related experience or an associate’s degree, usually one or two years in total.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED). This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Assistant Instructor
- Co-Teacher
- Educational Assistant
- Paraeducator
- Paraprofessional (Para)
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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.