Post job

Elementary educator vs student teacher

The differences between elementary educators and student teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a student teacher has an average salary of $59,035, which is higher than the $38,957 average annual salary of an elementary educator.

The top three skills for an elementary educator include mathematics, math and elementary education. The most important skills for a student teacher are classroom management, math, and language arts.

Elementary educator vs student teacher overview

Elementary EducatorStudent Teacher
Yearly salary$38,957$59,035
Hourly rate$18.73$28.38
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs32,90079,071
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4242
Years of experience--

What does an elementary educator do?

An Elementary Educator is mainly responsible for teaching basic academics among children while facilitating their social skills development. They are in charge of developing lesson plans and learning materials, organizing individual and group activities, creating quizzes and tests, utilizing audio and visual equipment, and developing strategies to meet the students' needs. They also monitor the students' academic progress and behavior, updating parents or guardians regularly. Moreover, an Elementary Educator develops various learning approaches while maintaining a safe and healthy classroom environment for everyone.

What does a student teacher do?

A student-teacher is responsible for assisting their supervising instructors in maintaining the class orderliness during lectures and class activities. Student teachers' duties include helping with lesson plans, organizing learning activities, managing student behaviors, observing classroom procedures, preparing visual materials and other educational equipment, providing feedback for students, and keeping students' records for evaluation. A student-teacher must maintain excellent communication and decision-making skills to set goals and make consistent progress to the class while keeping students engaged.

Elementary educator vs student teacher salary

Elementary educators and student teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Elementary EducatorStudent Teacher
Average salary$38,957$59,035
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $56,000Between $46,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYBoston, MA
Highest paying stateMarylandMaryland
Best paying companyErie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCESGreat Hearts Academies
Best paying industryEducationEducation

Differences between elementary educator and student teacher education

There are a few differences between an elementary educator and a student teacher in terms of educational background:

Elementary EducatorStudent Teacher
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorElementary EducationElementary Education
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaNorthwestern University

Elementary educator vs student teacher demographics

Here are the differences between elementary educators' and student teachers' demographics:

Elementary EducatorStudent Teacher
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 20.2% Female, 79.8%Male, 26.4% Female, 73.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between elementary educator and student teacher duties and responsibilities

Elementary educator example responsibilities.

  • Provide departmentalized instruction in language arts, mathematics, and social studies.
  • Provide general classroom support with administrative duties such as obtaining and distributing worksheets, reading packets and math packets for students.
  • Recommend and implement online math programs for school wide implementation.
  • Develop high quality standards-base lessons including extension menus, differentiate instruction, depth and complexity charts, and literature circles.
  • Adapt curricula to meet the specific needs and interests of students from Pre-K all the way through high school.
  • Strengthen student's cumulative learning and preparedness with FCAT reinforcement lessons.

Student teacher example responsibilities.

  • Manage RTI reading groups using both basal materials and literature-base novel units.
  • Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
  • Develop lessons that integrate technology into mathematics and language arts for various grade-levels.
  • Enhance student engagement for learning math and science through maintaining collaborative learning classroom environment.
  • Used responsive classroom strategies for Pre-K and first grade.
  • Attend workshops on how to access and create IEPS and bill for services.
  • Show more

Elementary educator vs student teacher skills

Common elementary educator skills
  • Mathematics, 13%
  • Math, 13%
  • Elementary Education, 7%
  • Public Schools, 7%
  • Kindergarten, 6%
  • Autism, 6%
Common student teacher skills
  • Classroom Management, 20%
  • Math, 13%
  • Language Arts, 8%
  • Social Studies, 6%
  • Kindergarten, 5%
  • IEP, 4%

Browse education, training, and library jobs