6 Qualities Every Early Childhood Educator Should Have

All educators must possess qualifications that equips them with the necessary foundational knowledge to succeed in the early childhood sector. With these qualifications however, there are a set a qualities and skills that educators should possess that makes them stand out from others. These are the educators who children love and look for every time they are at your service.

Here is a list of 6 qualities and skills you should look for when hiring.

1. Communication skills

Educators need to be confident and demonstrate a positive disposition when interacting with children or their families. With children, an educator would use techniques like getting down to their level, maintaining eye contact and speaking in a clear and positive tone. When speaking with parents, an educator will need to demonstrate a positive disposition and discuss certain aspects of the child. How does your educator flair on this trait?

2. Adaptability

An educator’s work involves being in new settings and situations and hence, they should have high levels of learning agility to learn from unfamiliar experiences and apply those lessons to succeed in new situations. Educators who deal well with change show that they can keep a cool, calm head and adapt to whatever their day has in store for them.

3. Creativity

This isn’t solely reliant on having artistic flair, although that’s a bonus! Being creative is expressed through the way an educator thinks, acts and prepares activities for play. There are a number of points to consider when looking at creative play.

These include:

• inventing new possibilities for familiar materials (e.g., using a resource in an unusual way)
• drawing on the aesthetic qualities of materials
• choosing materials that are open-ended and can be transformed.
• provide real tools and quality materials, and
• layer materials to offer complexity.

4. Perseverance

An educator who is continually dedicated and devoted to their work allows children to thrive and develop. It is extremely valuable to have someone who will try and match the children’s energy, stamina and enthusiasm for life by being animated and having fun. Observe an educator’s ability to perform physical activity and play that encourages experiences and stimulation in children.

5. Patience

Patience is a person’s ability to continue doing something despite difficulties without becoming frustrated. Educators need to be patient in establishing relationships with children; some may form attachments quickly, but others may take several months before trusting adults outside the home. Whether it be listening to “The Wheels on the Bus” on repeat, dealing with the odd tantrum or remaining encouraging when a child attempts to put their shoe on for the 5th time in a row; these interactions will slowly form meaningful attachments between the educator and child.

6. Respect for diversity

Every child has a unique personality and learning style. To encourage social development, educators must be able to understand, relate to and respect these differences. This in turn allows them to support children in understanding and valuing differences and helping children to live by respectful and friendly ways. See if your educator is able to create experiences that welcomes children of all genders, cultures and beliefs.

Here at shiftsimple, we are dedicated to hiring relief educators who meet these criteria, and more. Through a rigorous on-boarding process, we test for practical skills and emotional intelligence. All educators also undertake professional development training and reflective practices for continuous improvement so that they can hit the ground running immediately to deliver the highest education and care at your service anytime.