Early Childhood Education Jobs | Preschool Teacher Jobs

Tiny hands, bright eyes, growing minds, and endless possibilities.

Teaching in a preschool environment is like no other. One minute you may be teaching the ABCs and the next you may be tying shoelaces. Another minute you may be exploring ways to implement basic math and counting skills into your lesson plan and the next you may be calming a tantrum. It’s a truly unique learning environment where the youngest learners are first introduced to academics, proper social behavior, and group learning.

Featured Programs:

Grand Canyon University

Featured Program: B.S or M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education

Request Info

Walden University

Featured Program: Online Early Childhood Studies Programs

Request Info

Liberty University

Featured Program: Graduate Certificate in Preschool

Request Info

Arizona State University - Online

Featured Program: Early Childhood Education, Med; Early Childhood Education (Teacher Certification), MEd

Request Info

University of Phoenix

Featured Program: Bachelor of Science in Education / Elementary Education

Request Info

Rasmussen University

Featured Program: Associate's and Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education - Each offers a flexible and affordable way to prepare to teach children in Pre-K classrooms.

Request Info

Campbellsville University

Featured Program: Associate and Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education

Request Info

Your job will include encouraging creativity, fostering academic growth, and nurturing your tiny learners. It’s a rewarding and fulfilling profession reserved for those who love children and the learning process, who have equal parts enthusiasm and patience, and who feel right at home with paint on their fingers and a storybook in their hands.

Preschool may be a place for circle time and learning to stand in line, but there’s no mistaking its significance in our nation’s educational system.

A strong body of evidence shows that early learning is vital for children’s future learning and development. According to the U.S. Department of Education, preschool is vital for expanding educational equity and opportunity by giving every child a strong start.

As a result, preschool enrollment and spending for preschool programs continues to grow. As of the 2018-19 school year, state-funded pre-k programs served nearly a third of the nation’s four-year-olds—1.3 million children, an increase of more than 35,000 from the previous year. Total state funding grew to $8.75 billion during this time, an increase of $301 million from the year before.

Preschool teachers provide our next generation of learners with a solid foundation for achieving future academic and social successes, which benefits them, their families, and society as a whole.

The Job Duties of Today’s Early Childhood Educators

As an early childhood educator, you’re responsible for providing safe and developmentally appropriate programs that align with all relevant federal and state policies. Job duties include:

Adapting daily routines to meet the interest and needs of the individual child and the group
Developing activities that promote literacy and math concepts
Ensuring that the facility and all equipment is clean, well-maintained, and safe
Establishing policies and procedures, including disciplinary policies
Maintaining and scheduling weekly and monthly activities
Participating in on-going in-service and education development opportunities, and participating in the ongoing development and evaluation of the program’s goals and objectives
Planning and implementing activities that meet the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social needs of your students
Providing a classroom environment that encourages parent participation
Providing adequate equipment and activities

Regardless of whether you work in a private, public, federally funded, or nonprofit preschool setting, you’ll have similar responsibilities, which include:

Ensuring the constant supervision of all children
Establishing routines
Building children’s self-esteem through positive guidance and nurturing
Communicating with parents and discussing their children’s development
Implementing positive discipline
Observing children and making notes of progress and development
Promoting literacy and early education
Providing a safe and secure environment where children feel comfortable
Providing age-appropriate experiences and activities for children, including storytelling, games, and songs
Integrating special needs children in a positive and respectful manner

FIND SCHOOLS

The Skills, Knowledge and Abilities Required of Early Childhood Educators

A preschool teacher’s job is not for the faint of heart!

Your job as a preschool teacher involves not only teaching (of course) but also being in tune with your young students’ unique challenges and needs. You must remember that children at 3, 4, and 5 years of age have amazingly short attention spans and a constant desire to be on the move. They are almost always in motion, looking for the next stimulus that will hold their attention. That means you must come to work with some serious energy and expect to keep your students interested and engaged. You must not only be a teacher, but an entertainer!

You must be able to relate to your students on their level without losing sight of your teaching objective. This often involves not just teaching a concept but doing so in a way that will keep your little ones’ attention spans for a few, precious moments. Songs? Absolutely. Funny dances? You bet. Glue, glitter, and construction paper? Always a must.

As most preschool teachers will tell you, it’s an exhausting but highly rewarding endeavor.

What makes preschool a truly unique learning environment is that you are likely teaching foundational skills like proper social behavior and manners alongside academic skills. Standing in line, keeping their hands to themselves, listening to the teacher, not talking at certain times, and raising their hands when they have a question are all skills they will learn in preschool and carry with them as they advance to kindergarten and beyond.

Preschool teachers must also be the nurturers of these little souls. Very young children often need encouragement, compassion, understanding, and kind words as they navigate an environment that’s completely foreign to them. For many children, a preschool setting is the first experience outside of home in a group environment. Tears, breakdowns, and outbursts are all very normal but common behaviors in preschoolers. You must be able to meet these emotional struggles with a soft voice and kind words, all while encouraging your students the importance of obeying, following the rules, and adapting to the school environment.

You must be able to demonstrate:

Compassion
Consistency and fairness
Cultural awareness and sensitivity
Flexibility
Respectfulness

You must also have a specific set of skills that will allow you to deliver the highest quality learning experiences:

Analytical and problem solving skills
Decision making skills
Effective verbal and communication skills
Knowledge in child development and early education theories and practices
Knowledge of relevant legislation, policies, and procedures
Knowledge of safe and appropriate activities for preschool children
Supervisory skills
Team building skills
Time management skills

Qualifying for Early Childhood Educator Jobs

Given the increased attention placed on high-quality preschool programs, program administrators, school districts, and federal programs, such as Head Start, are finding significant value in hiring and retaining preschool teachers who hold a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and specialized training in teaching pre-k.

A report by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) found that as of 2018, 78% of all state-funded public preschool programs, 56% of state-funded private preschool programs, and 75% of state-funded preschool programs that serve both public and private settings required teachers to hold at least a bachelor’s degree and a teaching certification.

Although minimum education requirements for preschool teachers still vary from one state to the next (all but six states— Idaho, Indiana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming—offered state-funded preschool programs as of 2019, but most have different criteria for preschool teachers), there is a clear and concerted push toward the bachelor’s degree to be the educational standard for preschool teachers in both public and private school settings.

Further, many preschool teachers are now pursuing advanced degrees in the field, particularly for state licensing purposes or to achieve administrator jobs in the field of early childhood education.

FIND SCHOOLS

Early Childhood Educator Jobs: Where They’re Found and Who’s Funding Them

Preschool teachers may work in any number of settings and positions. Your position may be funded at the federal, state, or local level, or it may be funded on student tuition alone. It may be part of a large, national program or the state public school system, or it may be small, locally operated program.

You’ll find variations in everything from salary and benefits to work schedule and minimum educational requirements, depending on where the preschool program is located, how it is funded, and the size and structure of it.

Most states license center-based preschool programs. Licensed preschool programs must adhere to state standards, which typically include minimum educational and training requirements for preschool program directors, teachers, and teacher assistants.

Head Start Preschools

Head Start is a federally funded educational program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start Bureau.

Established in 1956, Head Start meets the needs of low-income children and their families by increasing school readiness by delivering comprehensive services to children and their families. Head Start is usually free to eligible children and their families.

Although Head Start has several programs, preschool is provided through center-based Head Start programs. This type of program is provided in a group setting and operates on a specific schedule with a qualified teaching staff. Head Start services eligible children who turn three years old before the first day of school.

Faith-Based and Non-Profit Preschools

Faith-based preschools sponsored by religious organizations provide a comprehensive educational program alongside religious education. Many of these programs are located in churches and other religious structures. A number of nonprofit organizations like the YMCA also provide low-cost preschool programs to members of a community.

For-Profit Preschools

For-profit preschools (e.g., KinderCare, the Goddard School) are operated by private organizations and are open to the general public. Many of these preschools offer additional enhancements, such as a second language, alongside comprehensive preschool programming. Many are located in childcare/daycare centers.

Universal Preschool/Pre-Kindergarten

To date, 45 states offer pre-k programs as part of their public school system. While most preschool programs are housed within primary school settings, some are also offered in childcare centers and Head Start programs due to limited space and personnel. Most state boards of education require preschool teachers in universal preschool settings to hold state teacher certification, which requires a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a similar degree.

FIND SCHOOLS