The old saying which describes the education as the backbone of the nation can slightly be altered in conformity with the present situation and can rightly be said that the teaching as a profession, in its qualitative measure is the backbone of the professional competence, academic excellence and financial as well as social well being of the multitude of people of a nation. From childhood to the secondary and college level to the university level and to the higher level research programs, the profession of teaching accompanies the man to add multitude of values to the growth of the nation in all respects. Let us envisage the variant growth offerings of the profession of teaching and teachers education in USA.
The Scope of Teaching as a Profession
Teaching profession in USA has undergone massive changes in complete conformity with the scientific developments and the demands of the job world. There is a huge breakthrough of various general disciplines into multiple specializations and consequently the profession and education of teaching has become subject to a variety of professional expertise driven demands. Though the teaching professions in present time demands more focus in a particular area of knowledge, what came as a positive, hope inspiring fact is that the professional scope for teaching profession has widened like never before. With the dramatic increase in the number of job oriented trade education through trade schools or university programs, the demand for teachers in skill or trade education are growing.
Different Institutions of Teachers Education Programs in USA
There is literally a multitude of Teachers education program in all over USA in various grades, level of certifications, disciplinary focuses, professional orientations and mode of educations. This great diversity of colleges and institutions offering teachers education can be classified into a few categories and here we provide a shortlist of them:
- Govt. Sponsored Universities
- Community Colleges
- Online Colleges
- Career Colleges
- Liberal Arts Colleges
- Private Universities and Colleges
Levels and Certifications of Teacher Education in USA
According to certification and degree there are six levels of teachers education program in USA, respectively as, Certificate Program, Diploma Program, Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree and Doctoral Program. In teachers education program to have a major concentration in a particular specialization or field of study, which is commonly termed as ‘major’, is very important for further advancement of career and study. In most common application ‘major’ is a specialized study of program which leads to obtaining of a Bachelor’s Degree.
Teacher Education Accreditation
Accreditation of a teacher’s education institute or program provides the assurance of high quality standards. Prior to getting enrolled, to assess the quality and standard of the particular teacher’s education program, one can verify the obtained accreditation of the program or institute. There are two accreditation agencies in the national level in USA, namely, National Council for Accreditation of Teachers Education (NCATE) and Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC).
Though there are multiple areas of teaching of profession and education in USA which offers a lot of rooms for further discussion in regard to their particularities, this article can at least provide a very basic guidance for those who are interested in teaching as a profession and teachers education in USA.