8 Preschool Teacher Interview Questions and Answers

We know that going into a teacher interview can be extremely stressful and nerve-wracking, but don't worry. Prep for these questions beforehand to excel in your next preschool interview.

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1. Tell me about yourself

• What led you to teaching? What are some of your proudest moments working with kids? What are some different childcare settings you've worked in (home, prek, 3k, toddler, infant, tutoring, etc)? Include your experience working with different curriculums, your educational background, and licenses/certifications (if any). Keep it strictly professional. 

2. What has been your best accomplishment in this particular or related field?

• Talk about an accomplishment you've had working with children of any age. Think about how the child progressed (behaviorally or academically). Could be as simple as you working with a child all year to learn how to tie their shoes or teaching them how to regulate their emotions when frustrated or upset. 

3. What has been a major issue you faced and learned from?

• Everyone faces problems at work. Think about a time you made a mistake or had a problem and how you solved it. Use the STAR method - Name the Situation/problem. What was your Task/goal? What Action did you take to solve the problem? Finally, what were the Results, and what did you learn from the situation that you will enforce in the future?
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  - Ex: I was having trouble getting my preschoolers to clean up after playtime. My goal was to create a routine that signaled playtime was almost over. I designed a new routine where 5 minutes before playtime was over, I would play a nursery song as a signal to start cleaning up. As a reward for cleaning up before the song was over, we would do a Gonoodle together. As a result, my students would clean up quicker and I didn’t need to remind them. I learned that students perform better when there is a routine in place. Now, I set routines at the beginning of every year so that my students learn to be independent and responsible. 

4. Tell me about a situation when your work was criticized.

• We all get observed, whether it's informally or formally. What was your feedback, and how did you implement it? It could be something small like your classroom set up or how you displayed your books. It could also be something bigger like using age-appropriate text to introduce a lesson. 

5. What would three friends say is your most outstanding and consistent characteristic?

• Think soft skills (communication, multi-tasking, collaboration, planning, etc) and explain why! These situations do not have to be school related. It could be that you plan all the activities that you and friends do. Or you started a group chat so there’s no miscommunication on where to meet for the next group outing. 

6. What makes you an outstanding candidate for this job?

• What makes you different? Do you do any volunteering work? Side teaching projects? Taught in different communities?

7. Tell me about a time when you had a high level of frustration at work. How did it end?

• Getting frustrated is easy, it's how you deal with it that's hard. How did you deal with your frustration in that situation? Did you ask for help? What was the end result and what did you learn?

8. What are your best skills?

• Choose 3 of your best skills. (communication, multi-tasking, collaboration, planning, time-management, classroom management, etc) and explain why! These should be school/work related. Give specific examples that demonstrate these skills.

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Good luck from EarlyDay!