Will a diploma be enough to become a special educator or a B.Ed. in special education is necessary?

Question

I am a tutor for children with learning diabilities (certicate course) and a psychologist too. Do i have to do sp.education also?

Answer 1

As I do not know where you're located I can only answer your question generally based on my own experience:

If you are a certificated child psychologist you can generally obtain certification in special education either through taking a national teacher's exam or completing up to 18 graduate credits in special education.  It depends on the requirements in your area. If you are in the USA contact your State or County Department of Education. You can do this by way of any search engine from there you can find out the specific requirements for your location.

Good luck in your endeavors.

Answer 2

In the US:

If that diploma is a Bachelor's degree in special education, then yes.

But, if you mean a high school diploma, or a certificate program, the answer is no.

NCLB (No Child Left Behind) says all teachers must be highly qualified. That means certified in the area they teach. Also, just being certified in special ed is not really enough, you must be certified in a regular education area.

For example, I have a Bachelor's in Early Childhood and Elementary with a Master's in special ed. So I am highly qualified for grades K- 5. Additionally, I went through the HOUSSE program which let me add K-12 as highly qualified. It covered all the general courses through grade 12.

Even my National Board Certification, which is the highest form of achievement and covers all disabilities (severe to mild) from birth to death (ages), did not make me highly qualified.