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Head teacher vs student teacher

The differences between head teachers 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 $51,715 average annual salary of a head teacher.

The top three skills for a head teacher include classroom management, child care and creative curriculum. The most important skills for a student teacher are classroom management, math, and language arts.

Head teacher vs student teacher overview

Head TeacherStudent Teacher
Yearly salary$51,715$59,035
Hourly rate$24.86$28.38
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs73,75679,071
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4242
Years of experience--

What does a head teacher do?

A headteacher is responsible for monitoring the students' overall learning process, managing and evaluating the performance of school staff, implementing effective learning strategies for the students, encouraging them to reach their maximum potential, and gain self-confidence. Headteachers often lead meetings, especially discussing school activities and the child's performance to their parents, implementing safety policies, and enforcing disciplinary actions for policy violations. A headteacher must have excellent leadership and communication skills to handle the students' needs and support their high-quality performance.

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.

Head teacher vs student teacher salary

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

Head TeacherStudent Teacher
Average salary$51,715$59,035
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $83,000Between $46,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MABoston, MA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsMaryland
Best paying companyGrand View HealthGreat Hearts Academies
Best paying industryRetailEducation

Differences between head teacher and student teacher education

There are a few differences between a head teacher and a student teacher in terms of educational background:

Head TeacherStudent Teacher
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorEarly Childhood EducationElementary Education
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Head teacher vs student teacher demographics

Here are the differences between head teachers' and student teachers' demographics:

Head TeacherStudent Teacher
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 13.8% Female, 86.2%Male, 26.4% Female, 73.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.0% 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 head teacher and student teacher duties and responsibilities

Head teacher example responsibilities.

  • Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
  • Plan and implement cohesive, age-appropriate curriculum for severely disable children in Pre-K program.
  • Develop and implement age-appropriate curriculum for toddler program, ensuring that appropriate opportunities are provided in order to maximize learning potential.
  • Set up the physical environment to meet the changing needs of infants and toddlers in accordance with ECERS and ITERS-R assessments.

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

Head teacher vs student teacher skills

Common head teacher skills
  • Classroom Management, 26%
  • Child Care, 13%
  • Creative Curriculum, 5%
  • Language Arts, 5%
  • Pre-K, 5%
  • Mathematics, 5%
Common student teacher skills
  • Classroom Management, 20%
  • Math, 13%
  • Language Arts, 8%
  • Social Studies, 6%
  • Kindergarten, 5%
  • IEP, 4%

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