What Is a Child Development Instructor and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

A child development instructor is a college professor that teaches child development and psychology. Child development is a crucial factor in primary and early education. In this career, your job duties include preparing daily lesson plans for your classes, delivering lectures to your students, and handling the administrative aspects of the classroom. The qualifications needed for a career as a child development instructor include a master’s degree in child or human development. However, many college level instructors hold P.h.Ds. This job requires excellent communication and teaching skills.

To pursue a career as a child development instructor, you need an advanced degree in combination with exceptional communication and teaching skills. Minimum qualifications for a child development instructor job at a college or university include a master’s degree or doctorate in child development, early childhood education, home economics/family and consumer studies, human development, educational psychology, or a related field. In many child development instructor jobs, the combination of a bachelor’s degree in child development plus a master’s degree in a relevant educational, psychology, or teaching field or a community college credit for your state may meet employer requirements.