Statement of Purpose/Personal Statement for Ed.?

[LizJayne]

Hello all,

I feel like applying to a master's program in education is considerably different than applying to a master's program in any other field. I'm currently applying to the BC Lynch School of Education, and I'm in the process of writing my personal statement. I'm curious; for those of you applying to grad school for education, what are you writing about in your statements? I'm writing about experiences I've had working with children, and how they've affected my personal beliefs and ambitions for teaching.

[sarakeet]

I've written about my experiences teaching abroad for the last several years, but most of the statement is more about me, what I want to do in education in the future, and why the school would be a good fit for me. I don't really think it's that different from other fields, except that there is a bit more of a career element to it--but in mine I'm mostly writing about questions that my experiences have raised about international/comparative education that I could answer by completing their masters' program, what my experiences could contribute to the program, etc. Every time I write about an experience, it's an example for one of these things.

I guess I don't feel the need to prove that I have a source for my interest in education, since I've been an educator for 4+ years already. If you don't have a lot of experience as a teacher, writing about that kind of stuff more makes sense.

Just my $.02--good luck

[ZeChocMoose]

I think it depends on how teaching or research focused your program of interest is. When I applied to master's programs, my personal statement was about my research interests and how they relate to my professional experience and my future plans in the field. However, the programs that I applied to emphasized research and practical experiences.

Also--make sure you address why BC is a good fit for you. When I sat on the adcomm when I was a master's student, it was confusing when applicants didn't address how the program would help them meet their educational and professional goals.

Good luck!