What are the prospects for international work for a Special Ed teacher

October 19, 2014 2:40 PM

I want to work in education. I want to work with English language learners with learning disabilities. I want to find a job in Taiwan upon graduating college. Eventually I want to work in Scandinavia. I don't particularly want to work in the American education system. What is the market like for American certified teachers who want to work with these types of students in Taiwan?

This has been causing me a lot of distress. I've been missing class because I'm not sure if I'm in the right field.

I want to work in education. I want to work with English language learners with learning disabilities. I want to find a job in Taiwan upon graduating college. Eventually I want to work in Scandinavia. I don't particularly want to work in the American education system.

Yet here I am pursuing an M.Ed in Special Education at University of Illinois at Chicago. From what I understand this is a very good school and a very good program.

I can speak Chinese and I majored in Chinese Studies. I like Mainland China and I'm not ruling it out for work upon graduation, I just like Taiwan better and I think their schools and country itself are a bit more developed. Currently I work with a native Chinese student with autism at a Jr. High, I'm a one on one teacher's aide.

I'm only in my first semester at school, and I'm only going part time, so switching to a different program wouldn't be such a painful leap. I have an appointment coming up in the future with my adviser, but he didn't seem to have too much knowledge on the subject when we set up the appointment.

Am I in the right program for this? Will being a certified teacher with a degree in Special Ed make me a good candidate for a job abroad? I want to get a job abroad right off the bat after graduating. What's the market like? How is the market in Taiwan? What about other countries that might have large Chinese populations? (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, etc.)

Thank you for taking the time to consider my question. I will be watching this and will answer any questions that may come up.

posted by charlieharp to Education (3 answers total)

I'm not familiar with your specific markets, but you might want to take a step back about your overall goals. Grad school is expensive, and if you're so checked out that you're skipping classes in October of your first semester, maybe it's a better idea to see if you can withdraw without penalty. I would consider looking for programs in your target markets (Taiwan or Scandinavia) as they can provide internships and specific qualifications required for those areas. I'd also look for programs that can give you accreditation for ESL.

I know a lot of foreign programs that recruit English language teachers require that the teachers are native English speakers. Some of them don't even require a masters degree or specific education training. Are you a native speaker? If not, you might have better luck finding positions that advertise in Chinese-language sources. This might also help you since special ed is a specialty within ESL, so naturally there will be fewer positions. Also, make sure you are getting the qualifications you need to teach in the countries you want to teach in.
posted by fermezporte at 3:57 PM on October 19, 2014 [2 favorites]

I think you need to talk to people in Taiwan or Scandinavia about prospects for special ed there. I'm not aware of any Taiwanese schools that offer ESL classes specifically for special ed students; that doesn't mean there aren't any, but you need to find out if this job exists -- and consider whether you're willing to invent the job by starting your own school.

You might want to check out the TESOL job board and see if they have any relevant listings. The listings are probably seasonal, though, so don't give up right away if you don't see any. Forumosa would also be a good place to ask whether such programs exist in Taiwan.

(And if you're considering switching programs, don't skip classes! You want to keep your record clean, as it were.)
posted by wintersweet at 4:17 PM on October 19, 2014

You should be focused on becoming an effective teacher first and international opportunities only second. International jobs in a profession usually require that the applicant be skilled enough to justify the hassle of hiring a foreign employee or that a domestic equivalent is not readily available.

An exception in your field is international schools where hiring non-local staff is the norm. The good ones do typically have someone with a masters in special ed on staff. However, these jobs are competitive and usually go to experienced candidates. You can see a US State Department list of international schools offering special needs support here (though I recognize some gaps, so it isn't complete.) I won't post anyone's email address on here, but if you look around you can find people at these schools with your degree and perhaps politely ask how they arrived at their current position.
posted by Winnemac at 4:20 PM on October 19, 2014