What was the required education for K-12 teachers 60+ years ago?
Asked by
JLeslie (
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August 28th, 2022
from iPhone
My mom said she remembers when she was a kid there were two year degrees or teaching certificates to become a teacher. I’m not sure of the correct terminology. This was not on top of a bachelors degree, but rather it was the education required to teach. I’m sure it probably varies by state, she lived in New York.
I’m interested in what you recall, and if you also have a link to support it I appreciate the opportunity to read up about it. I tried to Google and found very little.
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I graduated high school 58 years ago, all my teachers had bachelors degrees, going back to first grade. The teaching certificate was if you had a college degree but no background in education. I remember my first grade teacher real well.
50 years ago a 4 year Bachelors was required to get certified, my understanding at the time was that it had been that way for “a while”, (according to some of my professors in the Ed department.)
The requirements for a Bachelors degree was vastly different then it is now.
Plus 60 years ago it was easier to get into University then, less courses in the Program .
I was researching years ago of requirements for my older brothers University and much easier then now.( probably basic courses in comparrison to presnt day..add Psychology, child behaviour etc, I suspect)
@Inspired_2write That would surprise me. I don’t think of the university education my parents or even my grandparents had as being easier. Maybe it was? I never thought about it.
@JLeslie
I suppose if we factor in the dollar differance it may be close but for sure the requirements were less then present day as Eduction industry are rules by Business men ( Marketers) instead of Educators in those days.
Univerisites/Colleges are now run by competitve Marketing practices and instead of education being paramount its how much money they can squeeze out of a student , and in some cases for a lifetime of debt .
@Inspired_2write on what do you base your first post? I would be curious to know what was “vastly different” than what I did 50 years ago? We took a broad range of courses to fulfill the requirements for certification.
You’re in Canada, aren’t you? Maybe it was different there, we had a lot of Canadian students in our program, maybe the education for Ed was more comprehensive in the US.
@JLeslie
Check out stats on pages 67,68, 69
Apparently after the war ( 1950) more males sought higher education when soldiers were offerred financial assistance to complet there education.
@canidmajor
Just the comparison on my older ( 80 year od ) brothers requirements . Less courses then present, shorted program etc
See stats aboue in that PDF shows differnces in courses of a program etc..Iwas scanning the article…just my observation.
@Inspired_2write What does the GI Bill (for a college education) have to do with the university requirements to get a degree?
What link? Page 67 where?
115 pages of statistical analyses of education. Where are the specifics about Ed programs? I am not going to wade through 115 pages of general higher education statistics that don’t include actual Ed programs.
I just skimmed the Forbes article, and again found nothing specific about teaching programs.
@canidmajor
Look online for specifics tha suit your curiousity.
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@Inspired_2write please post specifics to the question. I think you may be mistaking the term “higher education” (which simply means college or university level) for Education programs (which are specific to courses for teaching).
@Inspired_2write I just read the Forbes article and it doesn’t say anything about requirements for a teaching degree in the past.
My parents started teaching in ND in ‘61 with 4yr bachelor degrees. My aunts taught in the early fifties with 2yr certificates.
My grandmother graduated from high school, and might have taken some type of test, though I’m not sure of that. This was in 1910. She was an excellent high school student, and one of the few girls in her small school district to complete four years of high school. She then taught for three years in a one room school house before marrying my grandfather.
For my lifetime in my hometown a full four-year academic degree was required followed by a year of education education followed by being a student teacher in the classroom for a semester. As far as I know that is still the routine; it was when I was in college and grad school. Most teachers here go ahead and get a master degree because it automatically raises the salary.
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