BLOG

A Step By Step Guide To Become A Special Educator In India

10th July 2021

The major goal of special education is to empower children with various special needs to successfully deal with their difficulties by developing their skills to the fullest. Special Education is specifically planned approaches for teaching, training and supporting children with special needs. By understanding the importance of the career, special child teaching course programs are preparing teaching professionals and parents as well.

These special needs may consist of learning difficulties, physical complications, developmental ailments and behavioral hitches. A trained Special Educator mainly works with children who have special needs with an abundant amount of patience. Moreover, this career path also comes with great profits and job solidity as the career is meaningful and rewarding. A French physician, Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard is the father of special education.

How to Become a Special Educator?

A career in special education is mainly for people who have a passion for teaching and at the same time, concerns for children with special needs. Kids with such special difficulties need special training and education by well-trained SEN professionals. The foremost responsibility of a skilled special educator is to teach and interact with kids who have a variety of special needs. You can startby pursuing a diploma course special education program.

Eligibility Criteria ---
 

1. Diploma in Special Education course, a pass in Class 12 with minimum qualifying percentage/ grade/ marks is compulsory.
    
2. Pursuing a B.Ed course in Special Education, UG degree from any stream with minimum qualifying marks is required.
    
3. Taking psychology in +2 would be an additional benefit for further knowledge.
    
4. You can also take up special child teaching course programs to get mastery over several techniques in special education.
    
5. For specializing in this field, you can take up M.Ed from an institute recognized by the Rehabilitation Council of India.

Numerous colleges and universities conduct entrance examinations to deliver admissions in special education teacher courses.
 

Watch this video to find out various ways to create a sensory diet for Special Educational Needs kids!

Skills To Become A Special Education Teacher

A special education teacher must possess these skills ---
 

• Patience: Needless to say, a special education teacher needs to possess patience as a characteristic. Learners with special needs sometimes take more time in learning and understanding a concept and you have to understand that these students are not always instantly approachable.
   
• Critical Thinking: As a trained special education teacher, you will be responsible for evaluating students’ development. You need to determine numerous teaching methods to progress the educational experience.
   
• Problem Solving Aptitude: You need to be able to recognize the problems. A special education teacher basically focuses on school children’s learning and growth in learning life skills.
   
• Strong Communication Skills: Additionally, special education teachers should have excellent communication skills. You need to be able to communicate evidently with parents, teachers, administrators and kids.
   
• Mentoring Skills: SEN teachers are dedicated to aiding their school children in learning developments where they have to mentor the apprentices to overcome the weaknesses and learning difficulties of students.
   
• Creativity: You need to be creative to be able to comprehend diverse ways of communicating with these students who need special attention. You have to make your classes more entertaining through creative teaching methods.
   
• Intuitive Skills: Special needs children may show trouble in expressing what they are feeling. Hence, you need to be extremely intuitive to identify fundamental issues behind a child’s behavior, along with helping them.

Internships also play a crucial role in the preliminary level of career development.

Employment Sector/Industry for Special Education Teacher

Skilled and well-trained Special Education teachers are in high demand. This also signifies that a teacher with a special child teaching course degree is likely to have more job security and a broader arrangement of career options than ever before. A special education career is so pleasing is the fact that it offers a lifetime of knowledge. You may get employment in ---
 

• Inclusive Schools
• School Consultant Division
• Therapy Centres
• You may also work with physiotherapists, psychologists and speech therapists
• Both government and private educational sector
• Rehabilitation Centres
• Schools for Specially-abled Children
• Special Education Teacher in B.Ed Colleges
• Hospitals that treat Children with Special Needs
• Consultancies that provide Special Education Trainers to Schools
• NGOs

Just like other professions, salaries also depend on your educational qualifications as well as your experience that may differ from individual to individual and company to company. Generally, trained special educators in India get paid in the range of INR 3 LPA to INR 4 LPA on an average basis.

Conclusion

Generally, special educators have more flexibility and freedom about their work. A career in Special Education with a special child teaching course degree is a sustaining option as long as you keep on improving your knowledge and aptitudes. As per the democratic laws arranged down by India, every child has the right to education; even the specially-abled kids. This shows an upsurge in the career opportunities for special educators in India.

Written By: Rimpa Ghosh