A preschool teacher is an educational professional responsible for providing educational lessons in a toddler-aged educational program environment with the help of other staff members. Like other teachers, preschool teachers are responsible for providing and maintaining a healthy and safe educational environment for their students by creating and rigorously implementing a lesson plan which seeks to assist their students in the healthy development of social, emotional, mental, and physical capabilities and understandings. Social skills are very important as they must be able to handle kids in a healthy manner and one that will teach them how to treat others.
How To Become a Preschool Teacher
Summary. We reviewed real candidate profiles to learn the best path to become a preschool teacher. We'll guide you through the education, experiences, and skills hiring managers look for in a preschool teacher.
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Most companies require a preschool teacher to have a bachelor's degree degree in a related field, such as early childhood education or elementary education.
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Common job titles before becoming a preschool teacher include cashier, teacher, and sales associate.
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Hiring managers expect a preschool teacher to have soft skills such as creativity, organizational skills, and physical stamina.
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Once you have all the required skills and experience, it doesn't take any job training to become a preschool teacher.
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Getting a certification as a Child Development Associate (CDA) will help you to earn more as a preschool teacher.
Before becoming a preschool teacher, 52.1% earned their bachelor's degree. When it comes down to graduating with a master's degree, 7.0% preschool teachers went for the extra education. If you're wanting to pursue this career, it may be possible to be successful with a high school degree. In fact, most preschool teachers have a college degree. But about one out of every six preschool teachers didn't attend college at all.
Those preschool teachers who do attend college, typically earn either early childhood education degrees or elementary education degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for preschool teachers include human development degrees or psychology degrees.
How to become a Preschool Teacher in 5 steps:
- Step 1: Explore preschool teacher education
- Step 2: Develop preschool teacher skills
- Step 3: Get preschool teacher certifications
- Step 4: Research preschool teacher duties
- Step 5: Prepare your resume
Key Steps To Become a Preschool Teacher
Explore Preschool Teacher Education
If you're interested in becoming a preschool teacher, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 52.1% of preschool teachers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.0% of preschool teachers have master's degrees. Even though most preschool teachers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a preschool teacher. When we researched the most common majors for a preschool teacher, we found that they most commonly have early childhood education, elementary education and human development.
Preschool Teacher Major Percentages Early Childhood Education 20.50% Elementary Education 12.60% Human Development 10.70% Psychology 10.20% Other Degrees 45.90% Develop Preschool Teacher Skills
It'll be a good idea to develop preschool teacher skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in preschool teacher job descriptions:
Skills Percentages Child Care 18.35% CPR 16.65% Classroom Management 15.02% Child Development 11.02% Open Communication 10.32% Get Preschool Teacher Certifications
Certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for this position. They can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a certification, having one may help you stand out in an application. Plus, the process of getting a certification can teach you new skills that you can bring to your work. We determined the most common certifications for preschool teachers. The most common certification is Child Development Associate (CDA), but First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor is also frequently seen in preschool teachers resumes.
- Child Development Associate (CDA)
- First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor
- Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE)
- Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED
- Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP)
- Certified Childcare Professional (CCP)
- Certified Planning Engineer (CPE)
- Certified Security Supervision & Management (CSS)
Research Preschool Teacher Duties
When you decide to become a preschool teacher, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most preschool teacher jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
- Implement and manage data for daily in-home ABA program for students with autism.
- Design and apply activities to help children in achieving their goals and objectives in accordance with IFSP 's
- Create creative curriculum to keep the kids learning and meet school, state, and federal educational guidelines.
- Maintain a NAEYC portfolio with supporting documentation to meet standards outline for Pre-Kindergarten.
- Develop differentiate literacy and math lessons to fulfill a creative curriculum and support kindergarten readiness.
- Arrange events & bible studies.
Prepare Your Resume
Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Everything that goes into creating a perfect resume can take hours, days, or even weeks. No worries, we created a resume builder to make this process as easy as possible with tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and a summary.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Preschool Teacher Resume templates
Build a professional Preschool Teacher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Preschool Teacher resume.Apply For a Preschool Teacher Job
Preschool Teacher Jobs
