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Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

O*NET files this work under Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education: people who teach academic and social skills to kindergarten students. The strongest interest signal is Social (7.0 of 7), then Artistic (4.0) and Conventional, which gives it the code SAC. The preparation level is considerable preparation, typically a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience. O*NET’s skill data points to social perceptiveness, instructing, and speaking as the ones to build. Expect to establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students. The job can ask you to prepare children for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks. People who want helping, teaching or caring for people usually fit better here than those who need leading, persuading and making business decisions.

What they do

Teach academic and social skills to kindergarten students.

Main tasks

  • Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
  • Prepare children for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
  • Instruct students individually and in groups, adapting teaching methods to meet students' varying needs and interests.
  • Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills.
  • Demonstrate activities to children.
  • Read books to entire classes or to small groups.

Skills

  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Instructing
  • Speaking
  • Monitoring
  • Learning Strategies
  • Active Listening

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You get energy from helping other people move forward.
  • You want room to make something in your own way.
  • You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
  • You are comfortable relying on social perceptiveness and instructing.

May not suit you if

  • You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
  • You want to lead people or run the business side. Enterprising rates 2.5 out of 7 here.
  • You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SAC takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.

Preparation

Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Bachelor's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

  • Bilingual Kindergarten Teacher
  • Classroom Teacher
  • Educator
  • Instructor
  • Kinder Teacher

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.