Studies & Degrees in Teacher Training for Primary Education

Choose where you would like to study Teacher Training for Primary Education:

Teacher training usually involves a combination of earning a degree and practicing the profession at the appropriate institution. When it comes to primary school teachers, they teach younger children, whose age may range from four to twelve years (at the oldest), depending on the region of the world where the teacher works. Another commonly used term for primary education is ‘elementary’. This is the level of education at which children are prepared to enter the upper grades of school. The primary school teacher is responsible for creating lesson plans, suitable for the student’s grade level, and most of all, meeting the government standards. Typically, the curricula that the teacher will need to follow will include well-rounded activities like math, reading, physical education, art, and science. Furthermore, the primary school teacher would be responsible to form and maintain good working habits in children as well as ensure discipline in classrooms. He or she would also have to create a variety of activities to help children assimilate the material in an interesting and engaging way as well as teach them how to interact socially with each other. This means coming up with projects in which pupils have to work in groups, while working out different roles and responsibilities.

Personal Qualities

To be a primary school teacher, you definitely need to enjoy working with children, be patient, and extremely tolerant. Further qualities are:

• High level of creativity
• Be very organized and self-disciplined
• Able to explain the material in a simple and clear way
• Be patient to deal with students with varying levels of ability
• Prepared to work long hours

Study Options

In order to practice the profession of a primary school teacher, you would definitely need some form of school teacher training, which greatly varies by state, city, or country in which you live. This means that training requirements vary significantly from place to place, and this means that you first need to research what kind of primary school teacher training is required in the region in which you intend to practice. Still, in almost any case you would need to gain some form of formal education, so you could research colleges and universities that offer degrees in education, pedagogy, or similar. Keep in mind that any primary school teacher training in which you participate should be offered by an accredited institution that is well known and respected within the area of education. This will help ensure that you can secure a job once the teacher training is completed. A good idea might also be to meet with an academic advisor, who can direct you to the best schooling options for you, which usually include distance learning and online classes on top of on-site classroom work.

Career Options

Primary school teachers usually work at schools – both private and public ones. They are trained to teach the whole curriculum, but they can also specialize if they decide to undertake further studies. In this case, you could develop and teach programs for students with special needs, rural and isolated children, and children for whom the language in which you teach is a second language. With the appropriate qualifications, skills, and experience you could also teach a foreign language to primary students. Finally, a primary school teacher may also be promoted to a position of educational leadership, such as primary school principal.