Special Needs Educator
As a special education teacher, you work closely with school staff and leadership to support and enhance learning for children, adolescents, and adults with special educational needs.
Subject description
The Special Needs Education Programme is a postgraduate programme at the advanced level designed for qualified teachers and educational professionals who wish to work with educational development and special educational needs.
The programme provides advanced knowledge of factors at the societal, school, and individual levels that may contribute to learning difficulties. Through in-depth studies of social interaction processes, leadership, collaboration, and educational development, you build upon your teaching qualification and acquire the competencies required to work as a special needs educator.
As a special needs educator, you can work across all educational settings and with learners of all ages, from preschool to adult education.
Career opportunities
Over the past ten years, Special Needs Education has been a highly sought-after field of study with strong employment prospects. In November 2025, the Swedish Government announced an inquiry to review the Specialist Teacher and Special Needs Educator programmes, with the aim of introducing changes to these qualifications. The inquiry is scheduled to report its findings in 2026.
Special educational needs expertise is expected to remain in demand, however, current indications suggest that the role of the Special Needs Educator within schools may change in the future. The Department of Special Education is closely monitoring these developments. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Courses and programmes
Course at master's level
Degree
Research
At the Department of Special Education, research is conducted from a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches, which well reflects the interdisciplinary nature that characterises special education as an academic field.
Research in special education addresses the conditions for participation and learning from societal, organisational, group, and individual perspectives. The focus is on examining how educational environments can support or hinder the development, learning, and socialisation of children and adults.