Masters

[RAEma]

I am looking to obtain my masters in Education focusing on early childhood education. I need help finding out which school is best. Possible choices: USC, CSULB, and CUSF.

Help please?????

[jbriar]

I applied to ECE special education programs, so while not directly in your sub-specialty, I know something about ECE programs.

The "best" school really depends on what you want to do with your career. I'm planning on teaching in a public school district then pursuing my Ph.D. For me, that meant that I needed to pay attention to academic quality, research opportunities, connections with potential employers and state certification requirements.

So, the deal is that if you just want to teach in the PK-12 school system, it doesn't matter as much where you go, except for the location. You preferably want to go to a school that can place you in the district you want to teach in for your practicum. Also, it is important to be aware of how much debt you will take on. PreK teachers are paid notoriously low wages (most start under 30K), and you don't want to be strapped with more loans than you can reasonably afford.

On the other hand, if you want to go in a Ph.D/Ed.D program in the future, you should be aware of the academic community's perception of your Master's program. Are you looking at M.A. programs or M.Ed. programs? How will that relate to your future career path? Will you have opportunities for research? Will you have an opportunity to complete a Master's thesis?

Hope this gives you a launching point for finding the best school for you.

Good luck!

-J