Teaching Assistants, Special Education

What the job really is

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.

At a glance

• Sector: Education & Library
• O*NET-SOC code: 25-9043
• O*NET job zone: 3 — medium preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• 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.
• Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, or memory.
• Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
• Observe students' performance, and record relevant data to assess progress.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
• Present subject matter to students under the direction and guidance of teachers, using lectures, discussions, supervised role-playing methods, or by reading aloud.
• Discuss assigned duties with classroom teachers to coordinate instructional efforts.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Alternative computer keyboards, Appletree, Audio tape recorders or players, Automate the Schools ATS, Blackboard software, Braille slates, Braille styluses

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten
• Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
• Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
• Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education
• Special Education Teachers, Middle School
• Instructional Coordinators
• Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
• Special Education Teachers, Preschool

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 3 (medium preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Teaching Assistants, Special Education — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.