O*NET-SOC 25-2051.00

Special Education Teachers, Preschool

Teach academic, social, and life skills to preschool-aged students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.

Preparation

ItemValue
Preparation zoneZone 5 – Extensive preparation needed
What O*NET says the zone requiresExtensive skill, knowledge, or experience is needed
Broad occupation in O*NETTrue (Yes)
Skills listed for this occupation6
Abilities listed for this occupation6
Tasks listed for this occupation5
Interest scores given for this occupation6

Skills

The 6 skills with the highest importance values in this occupation's records.

SkillO*NET elementImportanceDate
Speaking2.A.1.d4.1208/2019
Active Listening2.A.1.b4.008/2019
Critical Thinking2.A.2.a3.8808/2019
Reading Comprehension2.A.1.a3.8808/2019
Social Perceptiveness2.B.1.a3.8808/2019
Learning Strategies2.A.2.c3.7508/2019

The importance value is what each record itself carries on O*NET's importance scale; the date is the date in each record.

Abilities

The 6 abilities with the highest importance values in this occupation's records.

AbilityO*NET elementImportanceDate
Oral Expression1.A.1.a.34.1208/2019
Oral Comprehension1.A.1.a.14.008/2019
Problem Sensitivity1.A.1.b.34.008/2019
Speech Clarity1.A.4.b.54.008/2019
Written Comprehension1.A.1.a.24.008/2019
Deductive Reasoning1.A.1.b.43.8808/2019

The importance value is what each record itself carries on O*NET's importance scale; the date is the date in each record.

Tasks

The tasks O*NET records for this occupation, with the type, respondent count and date each record carries.

TaskTypeIncumbents respondingDate
Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, or memory.Core6308/2019
Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.Core6508/2019
Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement.Core6308/2019
Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, or social skills, to preschool students with special needs.Core6308/2019
Develop individual educational plans (IEPs) designed to promote students' educational, physical, or social development.Core6508/2019

Work interests

The interest scores O*NET gives this occupation, on the six interest types.

InterestScoreDate
Social7.011/2023
Artistic3.8511/2023
Investigative3.6611/2023
Conventional3.2811/2023
Realistic2.4211/2023
Enterprising1.7211/2023

More occupations in preparation zone 5

Source: O*NET 29.1 Database (Occupation Data, Job Zones, Skills, Abilities, Task Statements, Interests), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Data fetched 2026-10-31. See about and sources.