How To Become An Early Childhood Special Education Teacher: What It Is and Career Path

What is an early childhood special education teacher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Chris Craig

These professionals require a handful of specialized skills to perform their jobs correctly. They work with children with special needs, learning challenges, and disabilities. Early Childhood Special Education Teachers (ECSET) develop learning plans tailored to each child, provide structured environments where they can thrive, communicate with their parents, and even offer physical assistance when necessary.

To become an ECSET, you'll need a background in childhood education or a related field. Some states may also require a teaching certificate. It helps to have experience working with children with special needs. But more importantly, you'll need an understanding of the children's needs, empathy, patience, and a genuine passion for helping.

ECSET is a challenging but rewarding profession. Their specialized care helps special needs children learn, develop, and lead a life as close to normal as possible.

What general advice would you give to an early childhood special education teacher?

Chris Craig

Deputy Provost, Missouri State University

Need to be a strong advocate during COVID 19, as the general approach that has been proposed by school districts during the reopening creates unique challenges for children with disabilities and their families. More than ever, I need to thoroughly understand the role of the family, as a partner, in meeting milestones leading to a successful transition and employment/post-secondary education.

ScoreEarly Childhood Special Education TeacherUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,222

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.33%

Asian 3.16%

Black or African American 5.98%

Hispanic or Latino 8.70%

Unknown 3.82%

White 78.02%

Gender

female 94.44%

male 5.56%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Key steps to become an early childhood special education teacher

Explore early childhood special education teacher education requirements

Most common early childhood special education teacher degrees

Bachelor's

66.7 %

Master's

16.7 %

Associate

13.9 %

Start to develop specific early childhood special education teacher skills

Skills	Percentages
CPR	54.73%
Emotional Development	18.24%
Children Ages	9.95%
Autism	6.43%
EEC	5.14%

Complete relevant early childhood special education teacher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New early childhood special education teachers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an early childhood special education teacher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real early childhood special education teacher resumes.

Research early childhood special education teacher duties and responsibilities

Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
Participate in parent/teacher conferences, kindergarten transition and IEP meetings.
Have developed curriculum and teach beginning and low-intermediate ESL, pronunciation and conversation, and citizenship preparation classes to adults.
Plan and instruct professional development for peers on RTI regulations, various educational computer software, and PowerPoint presentations.

Prepare your early childhood special education teacher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your early childhood special education teacher resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an early childhood special education teacher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable early childhood special education teacher resume templates

Build a professional early childhood special education teacher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your early childhood special education teacher resume.

Apply for early childhood special education teacher jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an early childhood special education teacher job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do early childhood special education teachers rate their job?

-/5

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Early childhood special education teacher reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2021

Pros

I like working with my students, their parents and the various specialists my students need in order to increase their physical, emotional, daily living and cognitive skills.

Cons

There are very few things I dislike about working with preschoolers with special needs, other professionals and their parents.

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2019