What does an adult education teacher do?
An adult education teacher teaches and coordinates programs developed for adult learners. Adult education teachers assist learners who stop schooling early to provide for their families. They are advocates for the skills and confidence needed by those who were not able to complete their learning and in preparation for their job. Other than teaching, they make lesson plans so that adult learners can meet their goals. Also, they help students to look for resources that can be used to network in their job community.
Adult education teacher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real adult education teacher resumes:
- Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
- Teach students various subjects; writing, language, reading, science, social studies, and math.
- Assist students in acquiring effective study skills and the self-confidence the student need to reenter an academic environment.
- Instruct and motivate welfare-to-work clients in computers, high school completion courses, ESOL and with acquiring their GED.
- Serve as a counselor between the students and school administrators in areas of language, cultural, and social differences.
- Provide and maintain appropriate social interaction, receptive and expressive language programs, teaching job skills and other vocational subjects.
- Administer assessments and instruction on basic reading, math, and writing skills to students who are preparing for the GED.
- Develop ESOL curriculum and materials.
- Used creativity to produce own teaching materials to supplement and enhance existing literature.
- Present media base lectures using Microsoft PowerPoint and overheads.initiat a successful book club for students which measurably increase reading skills.
- Instruct students individually and in groups (using RTI models).
- Work on the after school team, school improvement and RTI committee.
- Participate in establishing the American chemistry curriculum base on guidelines provide by the head-quarters office in Lebanon.
Adult education teacher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Adult Education Teachers are proficient in Classroom Management, Math, and ESL. They’re also known for soft skills such as Cultural sensitivity, Communication skills, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Adult Education Teachers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Classroom Management, 11%
Teach public school classes maintain attendance; administer examinations, classroom management and lesson planning.
- Math, 11%
Designed curriculum and taught adults to understand concepts of basic math, algebra, science, and composition.
- ESL, 10%
Instructed formal Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and ESL courses for adult, non-traditional learners.
- Social Studies, 7%
Instructed students in Social Studies, Mathematics, and GED.
- Language, 5%
Provided and maintained appropriate social interaction, receptive and expressive language programs, teaching job skills and other vocational subjects.
- Grammar, 5%
Developed and conducted activities that target vocabulary building, pronunciation and grammar practices.
Common skills that an adult education teacher uses to do their job include "classroom management," "math," and "esl." You can find details on the most important adult education teacher responsibilities below.
Cultural sensitivity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an adult education teacher to have is cultural sensitivity. Their role and responsibilities require that "teachers work with students from a variety of cultural, educational, and economic backgrounds." Adult education teachers often use cultural sensitivity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "instructed esol classes to meet the needs of a diverse multicultural community. "
Communication skills. Many adult education teacher duties rely on communication skills. "adult basic and secondary education and esl teachers must collaborate with other teachers and program administrators," so an adult education teacher will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways adult education teacher responsibilities rely on communication skills: "create and implement lessons in basic communication and grammar using side by side curriculum. "
Patience. This is an important skill for adult education teachers to perform their duties. For an example of how adult education teacher responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "working with students of different abilities and backgrounds can be difficult." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an adult education teacher: "necessitated attention to detail, deep listening skills, patience, cross-cultural communication skills, and excellent understanding of english grammar. ".
The three companies that hire the most adult education teachers are:
- Grayson College14 adult education teachers jobs
- EASTCONN8 adult education teachers jobs
- State of Georgia: Teachers Retirement System of Georgia2 adult education teachers jobs
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Compare different adult education teachers
Adult education teacher vs. Literacy specialist
A literacy specialist ensures accurate and correct recording reporting and document keeping. These professionals manage literacy support by organizing staff instructions and schedules. Besides providing and supporting data analysis and literacy assessment, a literacy specialist also acts as a useful resource for families, administrators, assistant teachers, and teachers. They promote professional development by supporting, coaching, and guiding teachers with instructional practices and literacy programs. Moreover, literacy specialists oversee the learning institution's literacy program.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an adult education teacher are more likely to require skills like "math," "language," "grammar," and "language arts." On the other hand, a job as a literacy specialist requires skills like "school administration," "assessment data," "staff development," and "student achievement." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Literacy specialists earn the highest salaries when working in the retail industry, with an average yearly salary of $58,630. On the other hand, adult education teachers are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $48,890.On average, literacy specialists reach similar levels of education than adult education teachers. Literacy specialists are 4.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Adult education teacher vs. Ged instructor
A teacher-in-training is a teaching professional who offers technical teaching assistance to teachers in developing effective behavior management and instructional strategies to support student learning. The teacher must collaborate with principals while employing diverse techniques to increase the effectiveness of student learning. By observing classes and then giving feedback to teachers about their teaching style, classroom management, and techniques are some of the responsibilities of a teacher-in-training. The teacher must also develop a wide array of curriculum materials and lesson plans for classroom instruction.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real adult education teacher resumes. While adult education teacher responsibilities can utilize skills like "classroom management," "grammar," "curriculum development," and "instructional strategies," ged instructors use skills like "student learning," "risk youth," "general education development test," and "student performance."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Ged instructors tend to reach similar levels of education than adult education teachers. In fact, they're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for adult education teachers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Diana Jones
Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University
Adult education teacher vs. Teacher-in-training
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, adult education teachers are more likely to have skills like "math," "grammar," "instructional strategies," and "learning styles." But a teacher-in-training is more likely to have skills like "staff development," "student achievement," "student engagement," and "yoga."
Teachers-in training earn the highest salary when working in the education industry, where they receive an average salary of $39,697. Comparatively, adult education teachers have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $48,890.Most teachers-in training achieve a similar degree level compared to adult education teachers. For example, they're 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Adult education teacher vs. Esol instructor
Even though a few skill sets overlap between adult education teachers and esol instructors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an adult education teacher might have more use for skills like "classroom management," "math," "esl," and "grammar." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of esol instructors require skills like "student performance," "professional development workshops," "manage classrooms," and "student attendance. "
In general, esol instructors hold similar degree levels compared to adult education teachers. Esol instructors are 3.3% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of adult education teacher
Updated January 8, 2025
