Education Degrees

With a bachelor of science in education, you’ll gain the skills and licensure needed to teach in both public and private elementary, middle, and high schools.

You’ll learn how to develop a curriculum for your classes, will study the pedagogy of teaching children, and will learn how to work with special needs students. After gaining experience, you may qualify to move into school administrator roles.

What is a Degree in Education?

With a bachelor of science in education, you’ll be qualified to teach students in grades kindergarten through 12. During college, you’ll choose an area of focus that will dictate what age groups and subjects you’ll be qualified to teach as a teacher.

For example, elementary school teachers generally teach all subjects to a single class, while middle and high school teachers usually focus on one or two subjects. Additionally, you’ll work as a teaching assistant during your program to gain classroom experience.

Most bachelor of science in education programs result in state licensure, a credential that is required for working in public schools and recommended for working in private schools.

After graduation, you’ll have everything needed to pursue a teaching position. Additionally, after earning many years of experience as a teacher, you may qualify for school administrative and leadership positions, such as assistant principal, principal, and school superintendent roles.

What Courses Would I Take For a Major in Education?

What Jobs Can You Get with a Degree in Education?

Elementary and secondary education is mandated by law, so there is always a demand for qualified and licensed teachers. Today’s teachers earn a living as substitutes, temporary, and full-time teachers, and teach in both traditional and online environments.

Teachers of the core subjects—composition, math, science, and history—usually find work easily. Teachers can also find work tutoring students in their subjects or supplement their incomes by working as adult education teachers in the evenings.

How Long does it take?

A bachelors in Education will have a typical length of 4 years in a full time schedule. That said, there are many ways to speed up the timeframe by either taking more units via online coursework, community college, or taking free classes at OnlineDegree.com that could transfer to universities in the US.

Online Education Degree

Education degree programs are popular choices for students. You may enroll in an online program to earn a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in education.

Most programs will require practical experience in the form of training or internship at approved places for graduation. Additionally, some programs will allow you to get a teaching license while others may not allow this which is an important factor when considering your future studies.

What Can You Do With an Education Degree?

Education is the task of helping students learn or gain knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits. It is commonly viewed as the most important step in developing a country which happened in countries as Japan and Germany. Accordingly, it is recognized by many countries and the United Nations as one of the human rights.

Education can be achieved in different forms including teaching, training, storytelling and discussion. However, education as a college degree is mainly focused on teaching in schools. Education is a dynamic field with different theories and approaches being developed regularly. There is also a movement for education reform with evidence-based education being currently considered as the favorable approach.

What does an education student learn?

Teachers should learn how to communicate effectively with their students in addition to the proper way of teaching specified for each topic. They should also know how to deal with students having disabilities or learning difficulties. Education degree programs focus on these topics:

1. Pedagogy: this is the theory of teaching including methods and practice. It is considered an introductory course in education degree programs introducing principles, theories and methods of education.
2. Educational psychology: understanding psychology is a great benefit for effective teaching of students. It helps in customizing the educational strategy based on the type of personality and the psychological characteristics and needs. It introduces topics such as student outcomes, instructional process, individual differences in learning, learning disabilities and talented learners.
3. Educational policy: setting an educational policy includes defining the objectives and expected outcomes of the learning process. It also involves choosing the educational system and cultural background.
4. Assessment: this is a major and challenging part of the educational process. Evaluation of the students to ensure fulfillment of the learning objectives differs based on the curriculum, learning settings and students. Types of assessment include formative, summative, confirmative, norm-referenced, criterion-referenced and ipsative assessment.
5. Curriculum development: this is important for people involved in the development of educational systems which includes defining the objectives and content to be delivered.
6. Other topics in education: lesson planning, social justice, special education and instructional technology.

Now I have the education degree…where can I work after graduating?

There are several specializations available in education which usually represent various stages of a teacher’s career.

1. Teacher: people working as teachers are usually specialized at a school level, a course or multiple courses. Experienced teachers are usually hired for higher levels as secondary or post-secondary schools where the courses get more advanced
2. Curriculum developer: the role of this position does not directly work with students but they work behind the scenes in a very important step of education. Curriculum development involves the use of new guidelines, technologies, strategies and innovative ways to teach students.
3. School counselor: the role of this counselor is to help students regarding their academic and future career choices.
4. Special education teacher: this is a specialized teacher who works to help disabled students to overcome learning difficulties.
5. Education administrator: this is the highest level of careers in education which represents the leadership of educational institutes. The administrator may hold the position of a dean, provost, department head or administration director.

Should I choose an education degree?

Teaching is an exciting and enjoyable career for many students. You will meet new students each year and enjoy their energy and enthusiasm. Teaching also helps you develop a number of skills that are essential parts of the job:

1. Communication skills: this is the core of education which is a two-way communication between the teacher and students. You should be able to effectively deliver your message and understand their interests and inquiries.
2. Time management and organization skills: teaching can get very stressful in some instances and you will have to effectively manage your time to complete your tasks and fulfill the needs of the students.
3. Ability to resolve conflicts: dealing with a large number of students and teachers means that conflicts arise from time to time and you need to solve these conflicts in a professional and fairly manner.
4. Motivation and inspiration: many teachers represent a role models for their students because of their ability to inspire and motivate them. In this position, you can make a wonderful impact in your students’ lives.
5. Professionalism: During your work as a teacher, you may favor some students for personal reasons over others. While this may be out of control, you must ensure that all students are treated in a professional and unbiased way.

Best Jobs for Education Degrees

With a bachelor’s degree in education, you’ll gain the skills and earn the license needed to work as a teacher in both public and private elementary, middle, and high schools around the U.S.

Additionally, many teachers move into higher-paying leadership roles after earning experience as teachers, earning promotions into assistant principal, principal, school administrator, and school superintendent roles.

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  Elementary School Teacher

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  Kindergarten Teacher

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  Elementary School Principal

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  Junior High Principal

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  High School Principal

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  Assistant Principal

How to save time and money

Our mission is to help you to avoid paying full price for college. We want your Education degree to be affordable and accessible. Here’s how you could save:

Create Your Free SmartPlan

There are many ways to make college affordable and accessible.

That’s why we created a helpful tool called SmartPlan.

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Think of it as your “college blueprint”, to help you instantly craft a path to your degree:

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Enroll in a Transition to Teaching Program

If you earned a degree in another field—such as English, mathematics, or history—before deciding to become a teacher, you don’t need to earn another bachelor’s degree to get your teaching license.

Many schools offer a one-year transition to teaching program that allows you to earn the license required by state to work as a teacher without the expense and debt of taking another four years of education.

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