Education Degree

There is a lot you can do with an education degree. Teachers are needed at all levels of the educational system, from early childhood education to graduate-level courses. An education degree can also be used to enter one of the many career paths that accompany education in general: school administrators run schools and facilitate classroom success; learning specialists work with individual students instead of leading entire classrooms; curriculum developers create the lessons and materials used by educators.

The number and variety of education degrees available is truly staggering. associate's degrees are available in early childhood education. bachelor's degrees are available in education and the curriculums that are taught. By getting a master's degree, you really open yourself to the incredible range of this field. Graduate degrees are available in curriculum design, special education, English as a second language, early childhood, school administration, and just about any specialty you can imagine.

There are several prerequisites for obtaining an education degree. Graduate degrees obviously require a completed bachelor's degree. For undergraduate degrees, the right temperament to teach at the level you aspire to is necessary. For secondary school teachers, high school teachers, and adult educators, a mastery of the curriculum you will teach is also invaluable. Math teachers should excel at math while social science teachers would benefit from an undergraduate degree in their field.

What is a Teaching Degree?

While it is possible to be a teacher in a private school without a teaching degree, most types of teaching require a degree in education, in a specialized field, or both. To teach in a public school in kindergarten through high school, you will need a traditional teaching degree earned in a four-year school or, in special situations, some sort of equivalency earned via an alternative path.

Teachers at the elementary level, which usually include kindergarten through fourth or fifth grade, must hold a teaching degree to be allowed to have their own classrooms where they teach a range of subjects. Alternatively, they might specialize to become, for example, a reading teacher or an ESOL teacher working with students who are not native English speakers. These teachers might work in their own classroom space or might go into an existing class and work with a group of children in a corner of the classroom. In addition to these teachers, other special teachers in most elementary classrooms include a music teacher, an art teacher, a health teacher, and in many buildings, a computer arts teacher.

Middle school teachers demonstrate their qualifications by becoming secondary school level certified and, in addition, earning an endorsement for a specific subject. The endorsement can be earned while earning the undergraduate degree, or it can be added later if the teacher takes the required classes and passes a test. In most buildings they will work with students at grade six or seven through eighth or ninth grade. Some earn endorsements to teach a particular academic subject such as science or math and others become music or art teachers.

High school teachers, too, must begin by earning a secondary school certification, plus endorsements. High school teachers might earn the endorsements through an undergraduate teaching degree program, a graduate teaching program, or by enrolling in specifically qualified classes and passing an examination.

In addition to completing the required education classes, anyone who wants to earn a teaching license must also participate in student teaching. This is part of the college requirement to complete the teaching degree and is typically arranged through the program. Student teaching allows future teachers to spend an extended period in the classroom, first observing the classroom teacher's methods and learning skills and techniques through modeling, and then they practice teaching to gain experience.

In all cases, after passing course work, the final step for teachers to earn their teaching licenses is accomplished by passing a certification exam in the state in which they will teach.

Although only a bachelor's teaching degree is required for public school teaching, some teachers choose to remain in school to complete a master's or PhD education program, while others return to school as either part-time or full-time students. Better pay and greater respect within the teaching community as well as from parents is one of the rewards of going the distance in terms of earning a higher degree. Another is the ease with which doors open to top level administrative and research positions. PhD holders can also teach at any level, including working with graduate students who are, themselves, pursuing a PhD.

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