Professionals · code 2341
Primary school teachers
Primary school teachers teach a range of subjects at the primary education level. Tasks include - (a) preparing daily and longer term lesson plans in accordance with curriculum guidelines; (b) instructing children individually and in groups, using various teaching methods and materials (e.g. computers, books, games), adapting to children’s varying needs; (c) maintaining discipline and good working habits in the classroom; (d) planning and conducting activities with the children such as sporting activities, concerts and excursions; (e) assigning and grading class work and homework; (f) preparing, administering and grading tests and assignments to evaluate children’s progress; (g) observing and evaluating children’s performance and behaviour; (h) supervising children during classes and at other times in the school day, including the playground during breaks; (i) participating in staff meetings and other sessions, and conferring with other teachers concerning educational issues; (j) preparing for and attending parent meetings to discuss children’s progress and problems. Example of the occupations classified here: - Primary school teacher Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Head teacher - 1345 - School principal - 1345 - Schools inspector - 2351
None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count. It ranks 205 of 427 for holding up against AI.
Also known as
- primary school teacher
Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.
against AI Not Exposed
AI could take on 26.1 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 26.1 = 73.9
That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.
out of 100
From O*NET, averaged across 2 US jobs
and cramped
finger skill 21.4 · hand skill 6.3 · cramped spaces 6.9 · averaged
Kind of hands-on work · hands-on under 50 Less than half hands-on
Less than half of this job is hands-on. Robots still matter, but for a smaller part of the work, so we don't sort it any further.
estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement
What this number leaves out This job rates 23.3 out of 100 for how hands-on it is. The score above only looks at AI tools, not robots, but for work this far from the physical that matters less.
The tasks behind the score
The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.
The task AI could do most of scores 46.5, while the average is 26.1. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.
- 46.5
Preparing daily and longer term lesson plans in accordance with curriculum guidelines
Low - 33.8
Assigning and grading class work and homework
Low - 28.5
Preparing, administering, and grading tests and assignments to evaluate children’s progress
Low - 26.3
Planning and conduct activities with the children such as sporting activities, concerts and excursions
Low - 26
Preparing for and attending parent meetings to discuss children’s progress and problems.
Low - 25
Participating in staff meetings and other sessions, and conferring with other teachers concerning educational issues
Low - 20.5
Observing and evaluating children’s performance and behaviour
Very Low - 19.5
Instructing children individually and in groups, using various teaching methods and materials (e.g. computers, books, games), adapting to children’s varying needs
Very Low - 19.3
Supervising children during classes and at other times in the school day, including the playground during breaks
Very Low - 16
Maintaining discipline and good working habits in the classroom
Very Low
10 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's
from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting
Helped, or replaced?
The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.
3 Australian jobs match this one, and we've simply averaged them. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.
- AI helps you
- 62.7
- AI does it for you
- 32.3
Helping wins by 30.4 points.
estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 2412, 2413, 4221
Compared with similar jobs
There are 92 jobs in the “Professionals” group, averaging 61.2. This one is above that.
- Creative and performing artists not e… 87.1
- Veterinarians 85.8
- Dentists 85.1
- Religious professionals 83.4
- Dancers and choreographers 80.6
- Health professionals not elsewhere cl… 80.5
- Early childhood educators 79.2
- Visual artists 79
- Paramedical practitioners 76.7
- Optometrists and ophthalmic opticians 76.3
- Audiologists and speech therapists 76.2
- Nursing professionals 74.8
- Specialist medical practitioners 72.9
- Environmental and occupational health… 72
- Musicians, singers and composers 72
- Social work and counselling professio… 71.7
- Physiotherapists 71.6
- Special needs teachers 71.6
- Farming, forestry and fisheries advis… 71.5
- Generalist medical practitioners 71.3
- Mining engineers, metallurgists and r… 70.7
- Secondary education teachers 70.2
- Midwifery professionals 70.1
- Civil engineers 69.8
- Engineering professionals not elsewhe… 69.5
- Judges 68.7
- Electrical engineers 68.6
- Actors 68.6
A closer look
There's a written profile for this job, with notes on what changes and what stays human.