Teaching students who are deaf, hard of hearing,
blind, or visually impaired - a rewarding profession
APSEA employs teachers of students who are blind or visually impaired and teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and offers financial assisstance to teachers pursuing certification. Each area of sensory loss requires different disability-specific skills instruction but service and program delivery is similar. Itinerant teachers travel to instruct students and consult with the students' classroom teachers, principals, parents, etc. Teachers work with children from birth through high school including preschoolers in the home or daycare setting.
Why be a teacher of students with a sensory loss?
- job diversity
- ongoing professional development and growth
- specialized, multifaceted area of instruction
- job satisfaction (making a positive difference in the lives of students and families)
- professional autonomy
- participation on a multidisciplinary team
- excellent employment opportunities throughout North America
Teacher Certification
A MEd in the education of students who are blind or visually impaired or students who are deaf or hard of hearing can be completed at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Course work is completed through part-time study including:
- 2 three-week, on site, summer sessions during consecutive summers
- online courses during the fall, winter and spring terms
- a supervised practicum
For teachers of students who are
deaf or hard of hearing, course work includes language development,
sign language, communication and educational strategies. For
teachers of students who are blind or visually impaired, course work
includes braille literacy, orientation and mobility, assistive
technology, and independent living skills. Both programs address
adjustment to disability, educational modification and
disability-specific instructional strategies, and social inclusion.
For more information contact:
Paula Mayich,
Graduate Studies
Mount Saint Vincent University
Tel: (902) 457-6341
Director of Programs for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired (image)
)Voice/TTY: 902-424-8503
Fax: 902-424-0543
E-mail: Victoria Jeans
Director of Programs for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (image)
)Voice/TTY: 902-424-3358
Fax: 902-424-0543
E-mail: Lori Moore