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+--- Thread: Question about Ed.S degrees? Cinderly or other future teachers? (/Thread-Question-about-Ed-S-degrees-Cinderly-or-other-future-teachers)
Question about Ed.S degrees? Cinderly or other future teachers? - PatsGirl1 - 02-14-2008
Is anyone interested in doing an Educational Specialist degree?
I want to adjunct/CC teach and know I need an M.A. (which I'll be going on to get), but what I also wondered is- are any of the further degrees necessary to enhance your chances? An Ed.S, 2nd M.A. in Adult Ed, Cert. in CC teaching, etc.
I know PhD is required for tenure track at University level, but I'm not aiming that high any time in the foreseeable future. My chances of making it in Colonial and Post-Colonial American Literature without prior publishing are slim to none at best, and I'd actually prefer CC/Adjunct teaching anyway.
I know with an Ed.S. it is usually considered (from what I've heard) a Specialist degree mostly for the HS/Middle school teachers wanting to go into Admin, so would it be unusual for college? Would a 2nd M.A. specifically in Adult Education be better or redundant?
I have a call in to my local Community College Dean to ask him what they would prefer (which is, in a perfect world, the school I would want to teach in when my husband gets out of the military), but I wanted to ask the DL vets here first.
I'm looking for anything to make me stand out- they have so many Liberal Arts Adjunct applications, I want a degree/cert/something to put me to the top of the list.
Question about Ed.S degrees? Cinderly or other future teachers? - cinderly - 02-15-2008
I've considered it but am leaning more toward a PhD or EdD if I go that far along the graduate track. (I actually have a subject that I'm excited about and likely to research, anyway.) I'm more likely to just pursue the MAT (only slightly more expensive than the straight credential and worth a salary bump) with subsequent specialty certificates, but I'm thinking K-8, where Ed.S. holders seem to be largely in administration.
The specialist degree will definitely differentiate you from other candidates - it's a mid-step between a Master's and a Doctorate. Whether you need that edge will depend on where you're teaching -- some of my instructors at my local public university have been high school teachers working as adjuncts to bring in a little extra cash.
If you don't have plans to go for a PhD in English, the Ed.S. will show that you can balance scholarship and practice, something not all PhDs are interested in doing in my experience. Alternately, you could use the Ed.S. to "stack" subjects to widen your potential areas of perceived expertise. There's an interesting Communications Disorders Ed.S. at Nebraska-Lincoln, although I don't know how applicable that is to post-secondary ed.
What I'm not sure of is whether it's necessary at the adjunct or community college level. Real-world experience and teaching style seem to have as much of an impact as credentials (in my limited experience.)
I hope that sort of answers your question. If not, let me know and I'll try again. And I apologize for the length of this post - I think I'm still in over-explaining mode from hanging out with second graders!