Adult Education Degrees

Many of you must have heard the saying, learning is a lifelong endeavor. Learning doesn’t stop with a high school diploma or even a college degree. In fact, there are more professionals seeking online education alternatives than current students.

In towns across the U.S., people are consistently trying to improve their literacy or English skills. Some people do this to advance their professional growth, or to boost their job prospects. Teaching a class of adults is not the same as teaching P-12. A class of adults brings with them their own experiences. They learn, not from lectures and assignments but rather from collaboration, discussion and practical application.

If people willing to learn, are unable to enroll in a class on campus, they will pick an online degree program available from the hundreds of online programs in the U.S.

Degree Program Options

If you’ve decided that you’d like to make a difference in the lives of people by becoming an adult educationist then the first thing to do, is see what degree would be right for you. Depending on the previous level of education, the four degree options are:

• Associate Degree in Adult Education and Training: The associate program is an undergraduate track of study which requires the completion of a high school diploma or an equivalent GED qualification. The core requirements of the program are; adult learning, educational psychology, human behavior and development and fundamentals of training.


• Bachelor’s Degree in General Education, Adult Education and Training: The bachelor’s degree program has the same admission requirements as the associate degree program. The core course requirements are adult learning, educational psychology, human behavior and development, fundamentals of training, measurement and evaluation, advanced training perspectives and ethics.


• Master of Education in Adult Education: The master’s degree requires the minimum of a completed bachelor’s degree program in a related field of study, such as education. The core course requirements are adult learning theory, organizational communication for adult education and training, community based education, curriculum theory and instructional design, assessment and multicultural strategies for the adult learner.


• Doctorate of Education in Adult Education: The PhD program in Adult Education is an advanced research based degree which requires the completion of a master’s degree. PhD holders will work, ideally, as teachers of adult education. The core course requirements are research and evaluation in adult education, social and historical issues of adult education, perspectives in adult learning and an original dissertation.

Careers for Adult Educationists

True to Maya Angelou’s saying “When you learn, teach. When you get, give.” Teachers give their students the gift of education and, by providing it to adults, who understand the true importance of education; it can be all the more rewarding.

Adult literacy teachers had an annual median wage of $51,110 in 2013 and their expected job growth from 2012 to 2022 is as fast as average at 9%.

It is indeed a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together. If your passion is teaching, then it can be your career too.

*Salary related figures have been taken from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sources

https://www.bls.gov/current/oes253011.htm

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/adult-literacy-and-ged-teachers.htm