Masters degree confussion. ESL teacher looking to further my education

I am sooo confused!!
So basically I have a B.A, I am an ESL teacher (going on three years) in Asia and really want to further my education. My ultimate goal would be to have an education degree. However my Bachlors degree was in Women's studies and does no make me eligable for a post BA in education. So I have been looking into Masters programmes. This is were I get confused. So a Masters in Ed. is for teachers with a BED. But then there is a Masters of Science in Education and a Masters of Arts in Education... What are the differences?? I would ideally like to complete a degree as a distance learner. I just really want the next best thing to an Education degree as I would like to teach in international schools. Also if I decide to return to Canada one day I would also like to have a degree that would deem me worthy of working in education there as well. If anyone has any info on any of this please let me know.

 

It is a long-standing myth that your undergraduate degree must be in the same area as your graduate studies. This simply is not the case.

There are indeed many MEd programs that require a teaching certificate before you are eligible. There are also MEd programs that do not require a teaching certificate.

Many MS in Ed, MA, and MAT programs do not require a teaching certificate or a specific undergraduate major.

The question that you need to ask is what level/environment you want to teach ESL in.

If you want to teach corporate ESL then any degree should meet your needs but, if you want to teach public school children, you're going to need to meet specific state (national) requirements that vary from place-to-place. A government issued teaching certificate becomes the required credential and may or may not require a graduate degree.

For your general purposes, whether the degree is MEd, MS (Ed), MA, or MAT doesn't matter as much as whether it will meet certification needs in the jurisdiction you want to teach in.

For a few leads -- Salem International University used to have a DL TESOL MA.

You may find this web page useful http://www.cal.org/resources/faqs/RGOs/tesol.html

I've actually been considering entering the "accent reduction coaching" side of ESL -- considering "Southern American English" as being an "other language" for the purpose...

 

I took a distance Masters in TESOL after getting a BA in History. I now tutor distance Masters in TESOL distance students. For a choice of courses try Dave's ESL Cafe website under Teacher training discussions.

 

You say you'd like to get out of ESL and into international school teaching. It depends on the cirumstances, but that's usually a pretty good career move. You definetly don't need any type of ED degree to teach at international schools. What you do need, almost always, is U.S, or UK certification, and this is way more than possible w/o any Ed degree. So look at your certification options. George Mason has a masters program that specializes in certifiying folks with BA's and no ed credits. There are others as well so search around. It's all done on line and summers. Also, please remember that many, most, international schools have ESL teachers. You might try hooking up with any schools where you are now. Teaching credentials are usually required, but with a fair number of exceptions. I teach at an INT school and have no ED degrees so I know this all is true. Good luck. PM me for more info if you'd like.

 

Look at my signature line and you will note that my bachelor's degree is in history and political science but yet I have two master's degrees in business administration. I have an old buddy who has a bachelor's in international relations, a master's in theology, and, at one time, was studying for a doctorate in mediaeval history. So, it is entirely possible to switch fields going from one degree level to the next.

 

What sub-field of education would you like your master's in education to concentrate in? Check out these links.

DL MEd Programs (Under $10,000) http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19428
DL MEd Programs ($10,000-$15,000) http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19430
DL MEd Programs ($15,000-$20,000) http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19509
DL MEd Programs (Over $20,000) http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19517
DL MEd Programs (No Pricing Info Found) http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19425

 

I guess that is part of the problem, I dont know what I want my sub-field to be. I want to be qualified to work in Thailand (in international schools) and in Canada. However it appears that the qualification for both is a 4-5 year Bed. I have a 3 year BA. So while I know it is possible to gain a MEd, I am not sure what sub-field would be the best in order to be eligable to work in the jobs I want. I would happy to work as an ESL teacher in either schools in Canada or internatioanl school is Thailand. Also I am interested in teaching elementary students. I also would like to do the degree entirely by distance, I notice some distance programmes require you attend the school for a period of time.

Thanks for all the replies they have been very helpful.

 

Also can someone tell me the difference between a Masters of Education, Masters of Arts in Education and a Masters in Education.

 

The Masters in and of Education will be essentially the same -- an MEd.

Generally speaking, and there are exceptions, an MEd is a professional degree -- the primary content and direction of the program is to prepare you to actually teach something. It usually assumes that you already have a teaching certificate and possibly experience.

A Master of Arts and Master of Science is an academic degree with the primary objective of making you understand the subject area in greatest detail and likely the ability to conduct research. An MA or MS in education would have as the primary area of study the theories and history of education where the MEd might include more study in a particular field - or content area.

A Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) is referred to by some people as a 5th year of undergrad -- the purpose of which is to get you the education content that a BEd holder got while you were getting your BA. It provides holders of a BA/BSc in a field outside of education with an oppertunity to gain certification without getting another BA/BS or a BEd.

Of course, there are MEd programs that look like MA programs that look like MAT programs somewhere else.

 

I am now thinking that maybe I should look into getting a B.ed. I don't know if this is taking a step back or not. Also I don't know if I can do this by distance. However I know that in Canada in order to be a certified teacher I need a B.ed. However my goal is to work internationally but I do want the comfort of knowing that I will be eligable to work at home.

 

I think that is the right decision. I have a Masters in TESOL and a BA and PhD in History. I have taught in universities and high schools in 15 countries but still find it hard to get a job (except nightmare supply teaching) in UK (my home country) because I don't have a BEd or a Post graduate Diploma in Education. There is also a lot of prejudice from teachers with BEd believing that Masters and PhD holders are "overqualified" and shouldn't be allowed to teach in schools. I was rejected by one supply teaching agency in London, where there is a huge attrition rate and foreign teachers are warmly welcomed, because I had a PhD.

 

Right, OK so I guess my next question should be if anyone knows of PGDE programs or B.ed that can be done by distance. Some how I think the answer is no. I just feel to old to go back to school for another 4/5 years in order to get a B.ed. So really if anyone has any info on PGDE programs anywhere distance or not that would be great. Thanks for all the help!

 

The only one I can think of is University of South Africa

http://www.unisa.ac.za/Default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=18101

Hope this helps