The International Schools Review Forum

Is it just me or are more schools looking for teachers with a Bachelor in Education ?

I have a Bachelor degree (in another subject) plus my teacher certifications (which I completed by doing additional course work). Are my qualifications not as good as someone with a BA in Education in today's world of international teaching ?

Just wondering if things are changing....

I have a BA (four years) and a B.Ed. (equivalent to 1.5 years, but squashed into 12 months). This seems to be the most common route into teaching where I did my qualification. There are also four year B.Ed.s, but I don't know anyone who went that route. Typically people do a subject based bachelors followed by a bolt on B.Ed.

I think some countries are funny about it - if you have a degree relating to a subject not relevant to your teaching qualification (eg a degree in engineering but a teaching qualification in primary teaching) there would be a degree of explanation needed - I've heard about this being a problem for Dubai?

i could see it being an issue in middle and high school.

i can only speak for canada but i know a bunch of people who took a 4 or 5-year B.A./B.Ed concurrently. my major areas of study for my BA have no bearing on my BEd - unless i wanted to get certified to teach older kids, in which case i would have to ensure i have a couple of teachables.

i haven't heard of anyone having issues as long as their teaching credentials are up to date and from a reputable, recognized school.

v.

In many regions that dont have a distinct professional educator credential a a B.Ed is the credential. Even in those regions that do have distinct professional educator credentials a B.Ed (especially in primary) is the typically accepted route into professional education. In the States it can be VERY hard to find a B.Ed program anymore.

In IE however a Bachelors plus a professional credential is the working standard. Most vacancies as posted just dont list the possible routes and outcomes that would be acceptable. You would think a statement like "B.Ed or equivalent" would be easy enough but then you end up increasing the application stream with various ETs who 'believe' their ESOL certificate and bachelors degree is equivalent.

The only real change in academic creep is the growing preference for an advance degree, specifically a Masters. The understanding is that an IT candidate with a Masters (in education) is more committed to the profession and growing as an educator than one with a Bachelors qualification and a credential.

expatscot wrote:
> I think some countries are funny about it - if you have a degree relating
> to a subject not relevant to your teaching qualification (eg a degree in
> engineering but a teaching qualification in primary teaching) there would
> be a degree of explanation needed - I've heard about this being a problem
> for Dubai?
___________________________________________________________________

Yes, this seems to be an issue in Dubai now as the UAE Ministry of Education
has changed requirements and now wants teachers to have a BA in Education.
It seems that they will no longer take candidates with a BA (in another major) plus teacher credentials.
Crazy......

The UAE limitations arent real limitations. An IS can hire an IT to teach the subject their degree is in to secure the work visa, and then assign them to whatever classroom they intended to hire the IT for.

PsyGuy - it's a problem for Primary, though. From what I was told, if it's not a BEd in Primary then they're not able to get the visa. For example, my wife has an LLB (law degree in Scotland) and then did the PGDE some years later. UAE won't accept her because they can't get their heads around it.

If all a teacher has is an undergrad degree in Education, I would laugh as I read the application and then throw it away. Get a certificate after studying a subject. If all you studied in university was what today's "intellectuals" consider educational best practices, you literally left university dumber than when you came in. Study something real like History, Math, Biology, etc. Don't waste three or four years studying mush. I have witnessed principals who were educated at Ivies who only studied mush who just flamed out after a few months in charge because they can't deal with reality.

@expatscot

Still not a real problem. Your spouse may have more difficulty since the law degree is less directly related to a teaching subject, but its the same solution. Hire your spouse to teach secondary social studies (closest subject match for law) to get the visa and once in the IS assign your spouse to the primary classroom. Your IS knows this they are just disinclined to do so.

@reisgio

There is very little within the academic of teacher education and preparation that is noteworthy. The last significant advancement in education was digital instruction. Id like to see the focus of EPP/ITT move from academic studies to an apprenticeship model.