Career as a Nursery / Pre School Teacher

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Teaching - one of the most rewarding and noble profession, gives the satisfaction of having sparked the light of knowledge and dispelled the clouds of ignorance. Teachers are the ones who make a difference in the lives of their students. They can generate well-rounded personalities through their intelligence, patience and wisdom, and as such teaching is a very responsible job.

Teaching involves specialised areas like nursery/ pre school teaching, middle school teaching, high school teaching, special school teaching, teaching at colleges, universities etc. Nursery school curriculum focuses on language, social skills and child development. Nursery teachers are those who specialise in the early childhood development of children. They work with children between the ages of three to five years. Children learn to explore the world around them and work with other children in nurseries. Nursery teachers introduce children to reading, writing, counting numbers as well social interactions. They educate children using basic teaching methods such as showing pictures, storytelling, rhyming, games, music, artwork and play. They also teach them good habits and manners; helps to nurture and develop knowledge, abilities and social skills of children and helps to prepare them for primary school education.

Nursing teaching could be an ideal career for you, if you love children and are committed to giving them a great start in life. But remember that it is a job that requires more dedication, patience, responsibility and sincerity as you are dealing with little ones. The major responsibility of a nursery teacher is to create a home away from home for her students.

How to become a Nursery Teacher

Step 1
Join for a Nursery Teacher Training Course
Step 2
Complete the course successfully and obtain the necessary certification
Step 3
Look out for a job with nurseries, play schools or day-care centres.

Nursery/ pre-school teachers training courses are conducted by a number of colleges and training centres in India. One year certificate/ diploma course in Nursery Teacher Training (NTT) is the required primary route to start up the career. Besides this, there are several other courses like Child Care and Education; Early Childhood Education; Pre-Primary Teacher Training Education, Montessori education (Diploma Courses offered by Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) affiliates) etc. The minimum qualification for joining these courses are 12th standard pass. An advantage is that there is no age limit for enrolling for nursery teacher training. Montessori education developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori is an internationally recognised diploma which emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development.

There are several kinds of Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) courses to train adults to assist children at three age levels. The Assistants to Infancy Course is for birth to three years, the Primary Diploma Course (AMI Primary Montessori Diploma Course and AMI Montessori Assistants Certificate Course) is for 3 to 6 years and the Elementary Diploma Course is for 6 to 12 years. National Child Development Council (NCDC), a government registered and central government affiliated leading non- profit child welfare organization is also offering nursing teacheres training courses in order to provide better services to the children.

Nursery teaching programs provide knowledge in various areas related to child psychology and child education. Generally nursery teachers course involve theoretical and practical training for teaching, care and management of young kids. The course curriculum also include practical aspects of teaching like creativity development, play activities to be done with children, story-telling, rhyme-reciting, lesson-planning etc.

Besides class room training, gain as much as experience with children by spending your time with them. It will help you to make a successful career as a nursery teacher.

Skills Required for Nursery Teacher

child management skills
ability to work closely with children, parents, teachers and other professionals
excellent communication skill
patience
responsibility
compassion
flexibility
creativity
sense of humour
planning and co-ordination
observation skills

Job Opportunities for Nursery Teachers

Nursery teacher training course is a pre-requisite to become teachers, supervisors, curriculum planners, course co-ordinators, child-care takers in nursery/ pre-primary schools.

With the certificate, one can work in private and independent nurseries and schools or can start their own nursery/ play school or crèche or day-care centre. Openings are available in infant and primary schools including preparatory schools, maintained / independent nurseries, children centres, nursery centres, kindergartens and early excellence centres. They can also have opportunities with community schools, foundation and trust schools, voluntary aided and controlled schools, free schools etc.

Pay Scale in Nursery Teaching

Salary package of nursery teachers varies depending on the type of board one gets employed in, the school policy, the location of the school, seniority, experience, personal performance etc. Depending on the location, the initial pay scale of nursery teachers in state run or affiliated school may vary between Rs.5,000 to Rs.7,000. There is no fixed salaries in this field. Those who run their own nurseries and day care centers can get ample earnings. With a Montessori diploma which is recognised internationally, you can get a job in Montessori schools anywhere in India as well as abroad.

Nursery Teachers Training Institutes

Click on the following courses to get the details of institutes/ colleges offering these courses :