<p>Why does the study of Education get such a negative rap? What's up with that?</p>
<p>I've noticed that the field tends to get poo pooed for reasons unknown to me. </p>
<p>Is it because it's a relatively new field? </p>
<p>Is it because a PhD in education can also serve as a Professional degree? Therefore, it's not seen as being academic enough? </p>
<p>Is it because you tend to find more liberals/progressives who argue for radical change to our education system? ( </p>
<p>I've toyed with the idea of pursuing a PhD in Education or Education Administration or a Masters in Ed Policy. So, I'm curious about how people view this degree. Not that this will sway my opinion. I just want to know what are the stereotypes associated with this field.</p>
<p>I have never heard of anyone having this reaction to education scholars. Individuals I know in the field are highly respected, both professionally and within academia.</p>
<p>Asian- Ummm…you study education. You know… like graduation rates, what happens in the class room, education policy, analyzing different pedagogies etc… </p>
<p>Philosopher- Then maybe the chatter I hear about the education field is from outsiders? The basic argument I hear is:</p>
<p>-that education scholarship is lightweight
-not a true discipline
-people with degrees in education are incompetent
-is the reason why our k-12 system sucks (because the ideas/proposals coming out of this field are basically quack liberal ideas).</p>
<p>I know everything has its detractors but geeez!</p>
<p>The prejudice does exist – I’ve heard it firsthand, although I don’t know for sure where it originated. My GUESS is that historically, the K-12 teaching ranks were/are mostly filled with women and that it was considered a lightweight profession by itself. Any study of it might have been viewed as even more lightweight.</p>
<p>But keep this in mind: many professions are looked down upon by others, even though there’s no reason. Think of all the lawyer and “shrink” jokes. If your passion was law or psychology, you wouldn’t let those jokes keep you from pursuing a degree.</p>
<p>While the verbal scores don’t show a huge difference… the math scores do. However, I would hope that education majors score higher in verbal than some of the engineers I know.
Then again, the education majors I know aren’t exactly the brightest bulbs.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I realize the GRE is not a measurement of intelligence and yada yada yada, but you get the picture.</p>
<p>The criticism must be from outsiders who don’t really know about the field, because in academia and in professional atmospheres such as the department of education, it is respected.</p>
<p>Part of the reason for the prejudice (which certainly does exist in the academy) is that EdD programs (and also, often, programs that offer PhDs in Ed) do not usually have terribly rigorous requirements. EdDs often write dissertations without any substantially scholarly research, and it is common to have a dissertation “edited” (written by others). </p>
<p>EdDs are also viewed as professional degrees rather than research degrees, and those who pursue them are not usually scholars, but practitioners.</p>
<p>Please note that I am merely answering the OPs question. I will not engage in any debate about the validity of the jaundiced view of the EdD within the larger academy.</p>
<p>I want to study Education as my major in college, however teachers now tell me NOT get involved with the Board of Ed. My parents believes that I can not make a good living because teachers are under paid. I try to explain to them that to become a teacher money SHOULD DEFINITELY NOT be the priority. How can I explain to them that education is not about the money and I should be supported with my decision?</p>
<p>Sorry, I know this is the wrong thread, I wasn’t sure which this would fall under</p>
<p>From what I’ve been told, if you want to be a teacher, DO NOT major in education. You can minor in it or do it as a double major, but an education major <em>should not</em> be your only degree. They usually recommend studying a discipline.</p>
<p>So say if you wanted to be a math teacher, major in math (and maybe double major or minor in education). History teacher? Major in history…etc.</p>
<p>I think you can pursue your interest in teaching while keeping your parents happy. So say if you wanted to be a high school Economics teacher. Major in Economics. You’re parents will be happy because Economics is a versatile and marketable degree. But you can get a teaching credential after undergrad and teach to your heart’s desire! Both of you win. </p>
<p>In terms of parental expectations-this is a tough one because I’m currently going through this with my own mother. I’m sure other posters can chime in.</p>
<p>If you are interested in elementary or pre-school teaching, your degree will most likely be in “Education”. However as Louis XIII points out, if you are interested in middle or secondary school teaching, you can pursue a degree in a subject area along with a teaching credential, or even finish that degree and then earn your teaching credential in a one year M.A.T. program.</p>
<p>At first I wanted to major in Education and minor in Communications. I will contact the school and see if I could double major in Mathematics/Education and still do my minor decision.</p>
<p>My other question is if I decide to become a principal (MUCH LATER ON :)) What would be the name of that degree in Grad School?</p>
<p>Many principals are just former teachers, so there is no “degree” required. But if you want to be a principal immediately (this probably won’t happen because there are many qualified, experienced people ready to already be employed as such) then you might look at getting a masters or PhD in education administration or the like.</p>
<p>Well there is tons of elitism in the academic world, and I’m sure a good bit among my own good friends, the math graduate students. </p>
<p>Sometimes when people do something challenging to them, they are crumbling inside and must take it out on others. Other times, they’re just choosing to trivialize other disciplines. </p>
<p>Have heard it said to me at least a dozen times. First, there is a difference between a PhD and an EdD in the field. The rep of a lot of the EdD degrees brings down the discipline as a whole. </p>
<p>I met several people this summer who failed their quals in their original discipline and then transferred to the education school to graduate. They were kind of marginalized at the conference. For instance, I know this about them! People went out of their way to tell me. So, there’s that. It’s kind of where people are dumped who cannot cut it in other programs. </p>
<p>Also, historically the majority of PhD from African Americans are in Education. As such they tend to have lower GRE entrance requirements as we statistically have lower comparative standardized test scores. </p>
<p>Combine all of that with EdD degrees being used as cost centers – read: low standards and low scholarship because people and often their employers are paying for them just so they can be promoted – and most schools do not expect a lot from or put a lot into these schools. the only notable exceptions are Columbia’s Teacher College and Vanderbilt’s Peabody.</p>