Elementary School and Kindergarten Teachers

(NOC 4032)

in All Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services

Elementary school and kindergarten teachers teach children from ages 4 to 12, or grades primary to six. They work for public and private elementary schools. Elementary school in kindergarten teachers may specialize in areas like special education or second language instruction.

Job Outlook

Average

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  • Estimate Weak growth employment change, 2021-2023
  • Estimate 485 openings due to growth and retirements, 2021-2023
  • Estimate Low rate of unemployment in 2022

Compared to: All Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services

  • Estimate 1830 employment change, 2021-2023
  • Estimate 5515 openings due to growth and retirements, 2021-2023
  • Estimate rate of unemployment not available for these occupation.

Growth in the number of positions in the public education system is generally limited by budgetary pressures and declining enrolments. It can still be challenging for many new teachers to secure a permanent position, and it may require being mobile, as there can sometimes be less competition in rural or isolated communities. Shortages of substitute teachers still periodically occur, creating opportunities for new graduates who have not yet secured a full-time position to gain some experience. Enrolment in private schools has been expanding and this is expected to continue, offering additional job opportunities, mostly in the Halifax area.

Hourly Pay

$19.80

Minimum

$35.95

Median

$47.25

Maximum

Annual Pay

$10,849

Minimum

$60,849

Median

$82,855

Maximum

Compared to: All Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services

Hourly Pay

$16.30

Minimum

$30.00

Median

$51.30

Maximum

Annual Pay

$5,616

Minimum

$44,335

Median

$92,599

Maximum

About the job

Nature of work

Elementary school and kindergarten teachers teach children from ages 4 to 12, or grades primary to six. They work for public and private elementary schools. Elementary school in kindergarten teachers may specialize in areas like special education or second language instruction.

Job duties

Elementary school and kindergarten teachers:

  • Plan goals and designated outcomes for all students and clearly communicate to those learners.
  • Use a variety of teaching strategies like group work, lecture, mini-lessons, exploration, questioning, discussion, and other cooperative teaching techniques.
  • Lead students in activities to promote their physical, mental, and social development and their school readiness.
  • Assign and correct homework.
  • Prepare, administer, and correct tests.
  • Use a variety of assessment strategies to evaluate student progress and discuss results with students, parents, and school officials.
  • Identify children's individual learning needs and adapt curriculum to meet the needs of students.
  • Contribute to and manage an individual program plan for students with special needs.
  • Maintain records for student attendance, evaluations, report cards, discipline records, and other related documents.
  • Plan and implement appropriate classroom management strategies and techniques to ensure productive, interesting, respectful, and safe classrooms.
  • Apply appropriate consequences for inappropriate student behavior.
  • Communicate effectively with students, staff, parents, community, and outside agencies to better meet with the needs of students.
  • Participate in staff meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops.
  • May supervise teachers' aides and student teachers.

Sample job titles

  • behaviour support teacher
  • early literacy teacher
  • elementary school teacher
  • English as an additional language teacher - elementary school
  • French immersion teacher - elementary school
  • learning centre teacher
  • Reading Recovery® teacher
  • resource teacher
  • special needs teacher - elementary school

Skills

  • You should be patient, imaginative, objective, and resourceful. Leadership skills and the ability to motivate students are important. You must be able to communicate ideas in a clear, concise, and interesting way. Planning and organizational skills are also necessary. You must have the ability to demonstrate fair and ethical judgements and maintain confidentiality as the norm. Teachers must be knowledgeable about their subjects and keep informed of new material and methods of teaching.

Job requirements

  • A bachelor's degree in education is required.
  • A bachelor's degree in child development may be required.
  • Additional training, often at a master's level, is required to specialize in special education or second language instruction.
  • Reading Recovery® teachers require current certification as a Trained Reading Recovery® teacher in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Institute of Reading Recovery®.
  • A provincial teaching certificate is required. Additional certification is required to teach English or French as a second language.
  • Membership in a provincial teachers' association or union is usually required.

Other considerations

  • The work can be demanding and require a great deal of physical, mental, and emotional energy. A teacher’s day is busy and requires careful attention to a wide variety of responsibilities. Progression to education consultant or school principal is possible with experience.

By the numbers

Quick look

7,635

employed in 2016

79.6%

employed full-time

0.0%

self employed

83.1%
Icons/female Created with Sketch.
16.9%
Icons/male Created with Sketch.
42

median age

Compared to: All Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services

55,420

employed in 2016

76.4%

employed full-time

6.6%

self employed

64.0%
Icons/female Created with Sketch.
36%
Icons/male Created with Sketch.
43.5

median age

Where will I likely work?

44.6%

Halifax

$58,783 median annual income
16.6%

North Shore

$66,013 median annual income
15.9%

Cape Breton

$65,231 median annual income
11.9%

Annapolis Valley

$56,594 median annual income
11.1%

Southern

$63,706 median annual income

Compared to: All NS Occupations

47.0%

Halifax

15.6%

North Shore

12.9%

Annapolis Valley

12.7%

Cape Breton

11.8%

Southern

Top Industries of Employment

99.6%

Educational services

0.2%

Public administration

0.1%

Other services (except public administration)

What is the age of Employment?

29.0%

35-44

28.0%

25-34

21.0%

45-54

17.0%

55-64

4.0%

65+

1.0%

15-24

Compared to: All Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services

24.2%

35-44

22.7%

45-54

21.4%

25-34

17.2%

55-64

8.4%

15-24

Top levels of education

51.8%

Bachelor

$49,435 median annual income
33.6%

Master

$79,961 median annual income
8.6%

Diploma Above Bachelor

$60,375 median annual income
3.1%

College Diploma

$21,926 median annual income
1.8%

Diploma Below Bachelor

$36,968 median annual income

Compared to: All Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services

28.9%

Bachelor

$45,929 median annual income
21.2%

College Diploma

$35,398 median annual income
16.8%

Master

$71,043 median annual income
14.6%

High school

$29,055 median annual income
4.6%

Doctorate

$100,443 median annual income

Education & training

Art Teacher Education

College or University Program

These programs prepare individuals to teach art and art appreciation programs at various educational levels.

Institutions providing this program

NSCAD University

Halifax, NS

Curriculum and Instruction

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs focus on the curriculum and related instructional processes and tools and prepares students to serve as professional curriculum specialists. They include courses in curriculum theory, curriculum design and planning, instructional material design and evaluation, curriculum evaluation, and applications to specific subject matter, programs or educational levels.

Institutions providing this program

Acadia University

Wolfville, NS

Mount Saint Vincent University

Halifax, NS

St. Francis Xavier University

Antigonish, NS

Cape Breton University

Sydney, NS

Education of Students with Multiple Disabilities

College or University Program

These programs focus on the design of educational services for children or adults with multiple disabilities which adversely affect their educational performance and that prepares individuals to teach such students. They include courses in identifying students with multiple disabilities, developing individual education plans, teaching and supervising multiple handicapped students, counselling, and applicable laws and policies.

Institutions providing this program

Nova Scotia Community College

Various, NS

Elementary Education and Teaching

College or University Program

These programs prepare individuals to teach students in the elementary grades, which typically includes primary through grade six. This includes preparation to teach all elementary education subject matter.

Institutions providing this program

Acadia University

Wolfville, NS

Mount Saint Vincent University

Halifax, NS

Universite Sainte-Anne

Pointe-de-l'Église, NS

St. Francis Xavier University

Antigonish, NS

Cape Breton University

Sydney, NS

English as an Additional Language (Canada)

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs focus on the development of proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking English for those for whom English is not their mother tongue. They include courses in the use of basic communication skills to develop and transmit ideas and thoughts in English as well as specialized programs that focus on the development of proficiency in English sufficient to meet specific occupational or academic demands.

There are no schools in Nova Scotia offering this program.

Linguistics

College or University Program

These programs focus on language, language development, and relationships among languages and language groups from a humanistic and/or scientific perspective. They include courses in subjects such as psycholinguistics, behavioural linguistics, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, mathematical and computational linguistics, grammatical theory and theoretical linguistics, philosophical linguistics, philology and historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, phonetics, phonemics, dialectology, semantics, functional grammar and linguistics, language typology, lexicography, morphology and syntax, orthography, stylistics, structuralism, rhetoric, and applications to artificial intelligence.

Institutions providing this program

Saint Mary's University

Halifax, NS

Mathematics Teacher Education

College or University Program

These programs prepare individuals to teach mathematics programs at various educational levels.

Institutions providing this program

Acadia University

Wolfville, NS

St. Francis Xavier University

Antigonish, NS

Saint Mary's University

Halifax, NS

Music Teacher Education

College or University Program

These programs prepare individuals to teach music and music appreciation programs at various educational levels.

Institutions providing this program

Acadia University

Wolfville, NS

Outdoor Education

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs preapre students to work as an educator, instructor or facilitator in parks, recreational facilities, camps and other outdoor settings. They include courses in leadership skills, wilderness survival skills, first aid, group processes, counselling techniques, environmental studies and instruction in recreational activities such as rock climbing, ropes courses, backpacking, kayaking and canoeing.

Institutions providing this program

St. Francis Xavier University

Antigonish, NS

Physical Education Teaching and Coaching

College or University Program

These programs prepare individuals to teach physical education programs and/or to coach sports at various educational levels.

Institutions providing this program

St. Francis Xavier University

Antigonish, NS

Reading Teacher Education

College or University Program

These programs prepare individuals to diagnose reading difficulties and to teach reading programs at various educational levels.

Institutions providing this program

Mount Saint Vincent University

Halifax, NS

Special Education and Teaching - General

College or University Program

These programs focus on the design and provision of teaching and other educational services to children or adults with special learning needs or disabilities, and that prepares individuals to function as special education teachers. They include courses in diagnosing learning disabilities, developing individual education plans, teaching and supervising special education students, special education counselling, and applicable laws and policies.

Institutions providing this program

Acadia University

Wolfville, NS

Teacher Education, Multiple Levels

College or University Program

These programs prepare individuals to teach students at more than one educational level, like a combined program in elementary/secondary, early childhood/elementary, elementary/middle school, or junior high/high school teacher education.

Institutions providing this program

Mount Saint Vincent University

Halifax, NS

Universite Sainte-Anne

Pointe-de-l'Église, NS

Teaching English to Speakers of Another Language

College or University Program

These programs focus on the principles and practice of teaching English to students who are not proficient in English or who do not speak, read or write English, and that prepares individuals to function as teachers and administrators in such programs.

Institutions providing this program

Acadia University

Wolfville, NS

East Coast Language College

Halifax, NS

Employment requirements & contacts

Regulations

Teacher

Special Requirements: Nova Scotia Teacher Certification is required to work in the public school system. Certification may be required by other education related employers.

Regulating body:
Nova Scotia Department of Education & Early Childhood Development, Office of Teacher Certification
Halifax, NS

Contacts

Nova Scotia Teachers Union
Halifax, NS
Canadian Teachers' Federation
Ottawa, ON