Two main types of jobs exist for special education teachers overseas, according to the U.S. Department of State. Special educators can become tutors for children with special needs that live in areas where the schools do not provide special education services. They can also fill jobs as special education teachers in schools abroad, which would be similar to working as a teacher with special needs children in the U.S. Several websites list special education international job openings.
JoyJobs
JoyJobs is a website that lists jobs all over the world for teachers of all kinds. If you are a special education teacher looking for a job, you can use this site to find vacancies or schools where you would like to work (see Resources). To see an example of job listings, you can visit the site.
There is a fee to use this site. For the fee, you will receive a guide about finding jobs overseas, job listings updated daily, an overseas school directory, online CV/resume service, information about international job fairs and a list of schools to avoid. JoyJobs will keep your resume on file for three years; the site offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with what JoyJobs has to offer. The job listings target teachers from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
U.S. Department of State
The U.S. Department of State has two programs that special education teachers can take for certification to teach abroad. The first is FAST TRAIN International Special Education Certificate. FAST TRAIN stands for Foreign Affairs Spouses Teacher Training program. The special education program is "an online program that prepares professional educators for international assignments in the field of special education," according to the U.S. Department of State website (see Resources). The second program to prepare for overseas teaching is a learning-disabled tutoring program at the Lab School of Washington (DC). The Department of State website also lists several resources for finding job openings on its website through agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Peace Corps and the National Association of Independent Schools.
School Spring
School Spring is a website that allows you to search for special education jobs using certain criteria. For example, you can select a search for international special education jobs either part time or full time teaching any age group. With this search criteria, you could find a job listing such as an American family living in Spain and looking for a special educator to teach their child with a learning disability. On the School Spring website, you can also sign up for email alerts to have job openings sent to you, and you can look for job fairs that are being held near your hometown. The site is free to join and has a special section entitled "Interested in teaching abroad?" (See Resources.)
