While kindergarten teachers are known for their cheerful demeanor and infectious energy, being a kindergarten teacher is a challenging job that requires lots of patience, understanding, and empathy. Given these challenges, are kindergarten teachers happy?
Although happiness is subjective, studies that seek to measure job contentment reveal that kindergarten teachers have a relatively low satisfaction rate and are in the bottom 36% of careers in terms of overall job satisfaction. Low social status, heavy workload, and the incorrect use of their skills are major contributing factors to the dissatisfaction experienced by kindergarten teachers.
To better understand why kindergarten teachers are generally unhappy at work, we will explore the objective statistics in greater detail; these findings will be examined to determine the factors that improve and reduce job satisfaction for kindergarten teachers.
Kindergarten Teacher Happiness Statistics
According to CareerExplorer, kindergarten teachers rank their job satisfaction as 3.0 out of 5 stars. Not only does this place them at the bottom 36% of total job satisfaction, but it also places them toward the lower end of the education profession.
Therefore, despite having an average salary higher than childcare workers and special education teachers, these jobs showed higher average ratings of 3.2 and 3.1 stars out of 5 stars, respectively.
However, kindergarten teachers don’t appear to be significant outliers in the profession, as they have the same number of stars as high school teachers and school psychologists (as well as higher job satisfaction compared to elementary school teachers, which averages 2.9 stars.)
According to the statistics, kindergarten teachers ranked the following metrics poorly:
- Salary (2.5 out of 5 stars)
- Correct use of their skills and abilities (2.9 out of 5 stars)
- Stress levels (relatively stressful)
- Physically demanding (a moderate level of physical fitness is required)
- Levels of empathy and compassion (kindergarten teachers must exercise high EQ at all times.)
According to the statistics, kindergarten teachers ranked the following metrics highly:
- Teaching being the right career for their personality and skills (3.7 out of 5 stars)
- Meaning (3.2 out of 5 stars)
- Work environment (3.2 out of 5 stars)
- Time pressure to complete tasks (low)
- Control over the direction of their work (moderate)
- Opportunities for creative expression (high)
These job satisfaction metrics and further factors will be explored in greater detail below:
Why Are Kindergarten Teachers Happy?
The following positives have been identified as reasons why kindergarten teachers are happy:
- Personal enrichment and meaning,
- Reliable employment,
- Employment benefits,
- Dynamic and supportive work environment.
Personal Enrichment And Meaning
Kindergarten teachers are entrusted with guiding children through the first steps of their academic journey while teaching them valuable life skills such as positive peer interaction, physical education, and personal hygiene.
Therefore, most kindergarten teachers find their jobs fulfilling and meaningful while having a net benefit to individual children, the education system, and society as a whole!
Many of them state that this is the main reason why they became (and remain) kindergarten teachers.
Reliable Employment
The national teacher shortage is well-documented, and most people will know that the demand for teachers to fill vacant positions is at an all-time high. Hence, getting and retaining a job as a kindergarten teacher is relatively easy, which is a significant appeal.
Furthermore, as our understanding of the importance of early childhood education develops, the need for specialized and qualified kindergarten teachers will grow.
Therefore, not only does becoming a kindergarten teacher mean reliable employment in the short term, but it is also a constantly growing and evolving space, which could lead to career advancement.
Employment Benefits
Although kindergarten teachers, like most teachers, are paid a modest salary, there are additional perks and benefits to being a kindergarten teacher.
While the fringe benefits vary depending on your state and school, they typically include the following:
- Reduced school fees for own children,
- Medical cover,
- Retirement and pension packages,
- Housing mortgage aid,
- Lengthy vacation breaks.
Dynamic And Supportive Work Environment
While older students in middle and high school may treat school as a chore, kindergarten children are mostly eager and excited to learn about the world around them.
Although this results in children with high energy, it typically means less challenging behavior and a more enjoyable and dynamic atmosphere.
Working with understanding and supportive colleagues is another factor that contributes to a favorable work environment.
Why Are Kindergarten Teachers Unhappy?
The following downsides have been identified as reasons why kindergarten teachers are unhappy:
- Low social status,
- Teacher-to-student ratios,
- Negative parental interactions,
- Misalignment of skills,
- Heavy workload.
Low Social Status
Coupled with an average salary is the perception of kindergarten teachers in society and how this can contribute to a negative self-image of oneself and the profession.
Namely, many kindergarten teachers may be viewed as “lesser” than other positions in education, with the nature of kindergarten being deemed as “easy” and “inconsequential” in comparison to different grades.
While this viewpoint is starting to rapidly shift as we improve our understanding of the importance of early childhood education and psychology, there is still an element of hierarchy in the education profession that may place kindergarten teachers on a lower level compared to their peers.
Teacher To Student Ratios
Although it depends on the school, many kindergarten teachers are expected to work with a similar ratio of children to those who teach older students. However, kindergarten students lack independence and socio-physiological development, unlike elementary or middle school students.
Therefore, kindergarten teachers need to show a higher degree of empathy, patience, compassion, and individual attention for each student compared to other teachers.
Consequently, many kindergarten teachers feel they have unmanageable student-to-teacher ratios, which allows for less energy for other administrative tasks and leads to greater exhaustion.
Negative Parental Interactions
While it is natural and understandable that parents may be worried about their child’s happiness, growth, and development at school, these concerns are greatly magnified among those parents sending their young child to school for their formative years.
Subsequently, many kindergarten teachers complain about the unreasonable demands and expectations of children’s parents, who are quick to judge and criticize the teaching methods of a kindergarten teacher, despite having little to no experience with the intricacies of early childhood education themselves.
Misalignment Of Skills
Like with other grade groups, there is a curriculum and a set of objectives that should be taught in Kindergarten to ensure that students make academic progress. Nonetheless, kindergarten teachers with higher levels of education have expressed concern about not being challenged enough at work.
All states require public school teachers to obtain certification that demonstrates their advanced skills and knowledge in order to teach students. But most respondents believe that these standards are not utilized optimally in kindergarten.
As possible solutions, either the requirements needed to become a kindergarten teacher should be downscaled to match the nature of the job, or kindergarten teachers should be given greater opportunities to showcase and employ the full range of their skills.
Although skills misalignment is relative to different schools, it is evident that more needs to be done to improve the skills and training of kindergarten teachers while also creating programs and work environments that promote applying this specialized knowledge.
Heavy Workload
Finally, most kindergarten teachers complain about the time and energy needed to keep their students engaged and the preparation time required outside the classroom after work hours to ensure they are prepared for the semester.
Kindergarten teachers that prepare well in advance show higher levels of job satisfaction. Although time management is an important skill to develop for all professionals, teachers should not be expected to work overtime during their evenings and weekends to fulfill the demands of an excessive workload.
The following video from the Brown Bear Book Club explores some lesson plans you can employ to ensure students remain engaged in class:
Conclusion
While some kindergarten teachers are incredibly happy with their role, there is evidence to suggest that a sizeable proportion of kindergarten teachers have low job satisfaction compared to their peers and other professions.
Consequently, a holistic effort must be made to educate parents about kindergarten expectations, the challenges facing kindergarten teachers within the school system, and for kindergarten teachers to be equipped with specialized skills training at colleges and universities.
Sources
- Are Kindergarten Teachers Happy? CareerExplorer
- What Are Some Positive Things About Being a Kindergarten Teacher? CHRON
- The Analysis of Kindergarten Teachers’ Professional Happiness: Atlantic Press
- Do kindergarten teachers enjoy their job? Quora
- What are the pros and cons of Teaching Kindergarteners? Quora
- How to Create A Preschool Lesson Plan in 7 minutes? The Brown Bear Book Club
- Salary.com: Teacher Kindergarten Salary in the United States