Teacher Education

Types of Degrees Teacher Education Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many teacher education graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	4,326
Bachelor’s Degree	2,289
Associate Degree	1,432
Graduate Certificate	974
Basic Certificate	240
Undergraduate Certificate	124
Doctor’s Degree	26

What Teacher Education Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to teacher education and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Teacher Education Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in teacher education should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Teacher Education Majors

teacher education majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Abilities for Teacher Education Majors

As you progress with your teacher education degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Can You Do With a Teacher Education Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with teacher education:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education	7.4%	$58,230
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Teacher Education?

This major is dominated by women with about 88% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of teacher education majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	31
Black or African American	172
Hispanic or Latino	387
White	1,577
International Students	16
Other Races/Ethnicities	106

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Teacher Education, too. About 0.7% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Teacher Education

Some degrees associated with teacher education may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to teacher education have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.6%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.6%
Some College Courses	0.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	65.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	12.6%
Master’s Degree	16.3%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.6%
Doctoral Degree	1.7%

Online Teacher Education Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	25	10
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	72	23
Bachelor’s Degree	44	8
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	158	43
Post-Master’s	7	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	5	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Teacher Education

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to teacher education.

Major	Number of Grads
Elementary Education	41,711
Early Childhood Education	30,639
Secondary Education	10,948
Teacher Development & Methodology	6,323
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education & Teaching	3,018
Kindergarten/Preschool Education & Teaching	2,718
Adult & Continuing Education	922
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods	379
Montessori Teacher Education	304
Online Educator/Online Teaching	153
College/Postsecondary/University Teaching	101
International Teaching and Learning	24
Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Education	1

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Vgrigas under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.