By the late 19th century, educational debates were still echoing on “who was to be educated?” and “how this education was to be carried out?” Such philosophers as John Dewey and (closer to us) Jean Piaget understood that “all knowledge has a special origin and the interests of the child are the primary source of learning” (Spring 1989). The same author said that after the Civil War black leaders, particularly W.E. Dubois and Booker T. Washington debated not the importance of schooling but the kind of education for blacks. The latter, considered by many blacks as a traitor, would acquiesce with the 1895 Plessy v. Ferguson decision that said under segregation schools can be separated and remained equal. According to Perkinson (1991), Washington addressed publicly in 1895,
“….The Negro did not want social equality, that he did not need social equality with the whites. Nor did he want or need political or civil equality … but cooperation with their white friends. Negro education should be devoted to the practical education of earning a living.” P.48

But Dubois vehemently rejected that position and argued for equal rights. Meanwhile, diverse segments of society had been restless protecting their interests after the inaction of Plessy v. Ferguson. The US Supreme Court solved many cases in favor of minorities such as Peirce v. Society of sisters (1922, unconstitutionality of forcing public schooling only) or Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1940, unconstitutionality of forcing Jehovah Witness to salute the flag). None of them delivered a blow to the racist establishment more significant than Brown v. Board of Education of (1954), which stipulated that separate education was inherently unequal. That decision invigorated the position of such minority leaders as Dr. Martin L. King who had long said that the reality of equality will require extensive adjustments in the way of life of the white majority, an adjustment many are unwilling to make”, ( Smith & Chunn, 1989). The Brown decision opened the valve for a flurry of other specific legislations to right the educational wrongs done to minorities. For, Perkinson (1991) stated that black parents realized that their children were failing in schools not because they were culturally deprived but because the schools were incompetent to teach black students who, indeed, had a culture, a different culture.

I remain convinced that, on the part of many folks, it was not a matter of how to educate our culturally different children, but a deliberate case of not willing to do so. If we take, for example, Shor and Freire (1987), “It is not education which shapes society, but on the contrary, it is society that shapes education according to the interests of those who have power” p.35; and Perkinson (1991) “By 1965 the schools had polarized American society into self-satisfied whites and victimized blacks, into despondent city dwellers and indifferent suburb amenities by identifying and creating winners and losers” p.220, we shall see that these points of view (Freire/Shor’s and Perkinson’s) are in direct contradiction while both being sensitive and in the interests of the unfortunate, that include the children of the immigrants.

Bilingual Education

History & Rationale. As children of the lower class were failing in school and in life, bilingual education (originally) was not meant to rescue them. On the contrary, it was designed to catch up with the Soviets after their launching of the Sputnik, the first manned satellite (Cazabon, 1993). Through the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), the United States Government hoped to be competitive scientifically and technologically while being sophisticated in languages and cultures. As waves of immigrants kept crashing onto our shores, the Federal government passed a series of legislations and decisions to deal with the problem among which the 1965 Elementary & Secondary Education Act (to attack poverty), the 1967 Bilingual Education, the 1974 Lau vs. Nichols (special aid to non-English speaking pupils) and the 1980 Department of Education regulation (mandated Transitional Bilingual Education nationwide for limited English proficient students). Despite all those efforts, Lambert held that there were two faces of Bilingualism; one for language minorities and the other for the mainstream Americans (Cazabon, 1993). To such conservative politicians as former Senator Hayakawa, Bilingual Education would hinder the English development of immigrants (Minami & Kennedy, 1991). To those critics, Jim Cummings replied that students who experienced a preschool program in which: a) their cultural identity was reinforced, b) their was active collaboration with parents; and c) meaningful use of language was integrated into every aspect of daily activities; these pupils were developing high level of conceptual and linguistic skills in both language. Supportively, Krashen (1983) indicated that all languages are acquired the same way through four development stages, namely silent period or comprehension, early production, speech emergence, and intermediate fluency. Given time, a comprehensible input, and a lower affective filter (anxiety-free) the young immigrant will excel.

The situation of bilingual education let to believe that the authorities either want to assimilate every child into the main culture or to create bad cases of bilingual programs for the minorities where they would be proficient in neither language. In reply Skutnabb-Kangas (1986) had put forward the Declaration of Linguistic Human Rights (the rights to identify with, to learn, and to choose when to use one’s mother tongue), especially in relation to small children, where it “is close to criminal, real psychological torture to use monolingual teachers who do not understand what the child has to say in her mother tongue” (Skutnabb-Kangas & Cummins, 1986) p.28. Nonetheless, they registered many cases of positive as well as negative bilingual programs. The additive (positive) Bilingualism has been mostly experienced abroad, whereas most of the subtractive ones have been found in the United States.

Models of Bilingual Programs.
When Lau vs. Nichols was settled, it left the establishment too much leeway even though it cited the school districts for violations of the fourteenth Amendment and the Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964. According to Lyons (1990), the law did not seek any specific remedy, but only that the Board of Education apply its expertise to the problems and rectify the situation. Therefore, in its implementation worldwide, Bilingualism had two faces depending on whom it was called to serve. It could be implemented and verified as the best form of education (for the elite, the middle/upper class) or the worst case of educational formation (for the minorities, the working/lower class).

In pursuance to the announcement of 100 days agenda of HRD of ministry by Hon’ble Human Resources development Minister, a New Policy on Distance Learning In Higher Education Sector was drafted.

BACKGROUND

1. In terms of Entry 66 of List 1 of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, Parliament is competent to make laws for the coordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education for research, and scientific and technical institutions. Parliament has enacted laws for discharging this responsibility through: the University Grants Commission (UGC) for general Higher Education, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for Technical Education; and other Statutory bodies for other disciplines. As regards higher education, through the distance mode, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Act, 1985 was enacted with the following two prime objectives, among others: (a) To provide opportunities for higher education to a large segment of population, especially disadvantaged groups living in remote and rural areas, adults, housewives and working people; and (b) to encourage Open University and Distance Education Systems in the educational pattern of the country and to coordinate and determine the standards in such systems.

2. The history of distance learning or education through distance mode in India, goes way back when the universities started offering education through distance mode in the name of Correspondence Courses through their Directorate/School of Correspondence Education. In those days, the courses in humanities and/or in commerce were offered through correspondence and taken by those, who, owing to various reasons, including limited number of seats in regular courses, employability, problems of access to the institutions of higher learning etc., could not get themselves enrolled in the conventional `face-to-face’ mode `in-class’ programmes.

3. In the recent past, the demand for higher education has increased enormously throughout the country because of awareness about the significance of higher education, whereas the system of higher education could not accommodate this ever increasing demand.

4. Under the circumstances, a number of institutions including deemed universities, private universities, public (Government) universities and even other institutions, which are not empowered to award degrees, have started cashing on the situation by offering distance education programmes in a large number of disciplines, ranging from humanities to engineering and management etc., and at different levels (certificate to under-graduate and post-graduate degrees). There is always a danger that some of these institutions may become `degree mills’ offering sub- standard/poor quality education, consequently eroding the credibility of degrees and other qualifications awarded through the distance mode. This calls for a far higher degree of coordination among the concerned statutory authorities, primarily, UGC, AICTE and IGNOU and its authority - the Distance Education Council (DEC).

5. Government of India had clarified its position in respect of recognition of degrees, earned through the distance mode, for employment under it vide Gazette Notification No. 44 dated 1.3.1995.

6. Despite the risks referred to in para 4 above, the significance of distance education in providing quality education and training cannot be ignored. Distance Mode of education has an important role for:

(i)providing opportunity of learning to those, who do not have direct access to face to face teaching, working persons, house-wives etc.
(ii)providing opportunity to working professionals to update their knowledge, enabling them to switchover to new disciplines and professions and enhancing their qualifications for career advancement.
(iii)exploiting the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the teaching and learning process; and
(iv)achieving the target of 15% of GER by the end of 11th Plan and 20% by the end of 12th five year Plan.

7. In order to discharge the Constitutional responsibility of determination and maintenance of the standards in Higher Education, by ensuring coordination among various statutory regulatory authorities as also to ensure the promotion of open and distance education system in the country to meet the aspirations of all cross-sections of people for higher education, the following policy in respect of distance learning is laid down:

(a) In order to ensure proper coordination in regulation of standards of higher education in different disciplines through various modes [i.e. face to face and distance] as also to ensure credibility of degrees/diploma and certificates awarded by Indian Universities and other Education Institutes, an apex body, namely, National Commission for Higher Education and Research shall be established in line with the recommendations of Prof. Yash Pal Committee/National Knowledge Commission. A Standing Committee on Open and Distance

Education of the said Commission, shall undertake the job of coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of education through the distance mode. Pending establishment of this body:

(i) Only those programmes, which do not involve extensive practical course work, shall be permissible through the distance mode.

(ii) Universities / institutions shall frame ordinances / regulations / rules, as the case may be, spelling out the outline of the programmes to be offered through the distance mode indicating the number of required credits, list of courses with assigned credits, reading references in addition to self learning material, hours of study, contact classes at study centres, assignments, examination and evaluation process, grading etc.

(iii) DEC of IGNOU shall only assess the competence of university/institute in respect of conducting distance education programmes by a team of experts, whose report shall be placed before the Council of DEC for consideration.

(iv) The approval shall be given only after consideration by Council of DEC and not by Chairperson, DEC. For the purpose, minimum number of mandatory meetings of DEC may be prescribed.

(v) AICTE would be directed under section 20 (1) of AICTE Act 1987 to ensure accreditation of the programmes in Computer Sciences, Information Technology and Management purposed to be offered by an institute/university through the distance mode, by National Board of Accreditation (NBA).

(vi) UGC and AICTE would be directed under section 20 (1) of their respective Acts to frame detailed regulations prescribing standards for various programmes/courses, offered through the distance mode under their mandate,

(vii) No university/institute, except the universities established by or under an Act of Parliament/State Legislature before 1985, shall offer any programme through the distance mode, henceforth, without approval from DEC and accreditation by NBA. However, the universities/institutions already offering programmes in Humanities, Commerce/Business/Social Sciences/Computer Sciences and Information Technology and Management, may be allowed to continue, subject to the condition to obtain fresh approval from DEC and accreditation from NBA within one year, failing which they shall have to discontinue the programme and the entire onus with respect to the academic career and financial losses of the students enrolled with them, shall be on such institutions/universities.

(viii) In light of observation of Apex Court, ex-post-facto approval granted by any authority for distance education shall not be honoured and granted henceforth. However, the universities established by or under an Act of education programmes in the streams of Humanities/Commerce/Social Sciences before the year 1991 shall be excluded from this policy.

(ix) The students who have been awarded degrees through distance mode by the universities without taking prior approval of DEC and other statutory bodies, shall be given one chance, provided they fulfil the requirement of minimum standards as prescribed by the UGC, AICTE or any other relevant Statutory Authority through Regulation, to appear in examinations in such papers as decided by the university designated to conduct the examination. If these students qualify in this examination, the university concerned shall issue a certificate. The degree along with the said qualifying certificate may be recognised for the purpose of employment/promotion under Central Government.

(x) A clarification shall be issued with reference to Gazette Notification No. 44 dated 1.3.1995 that it shall not be applicable on to the degrees/diplomas awarded by the universities established by or under an Act of Parliament or State Legislature before 1985, in the streams of Humanities/Commerce and Social Sciences.

(xi) The policy initiatives spelt out in succeeding paragraphs shall be equally applicable to institutions offering distance education/intending to offer distance education.

(b) All universities and institutions offering programmes through the distance mode shall need to have prior recognition/approval for offering such programmes and accreditation from designated competent authority, mandatorily in respect of the programmes offered by them. The violators of this shall be liable for appropriate penalty as prescribed by law. The universities/institutions offering education through distance mode and found involved in cheating of students/people by giving wrong/false information or wilfully suppressing the information shall also be dealt with strictly under the penal provisions of law.

(c) The universities / institutes shall have their own study centres for face to face counselling and removal of difficulties as also to seek other academic and administrative assistance. Franchising of distance education by any university, institutions whether public or private shall not be allowed.

(d ) The universities /institutions shall only offer such programmes through distance mode which are on offer on their campuses through conventional mode. In case of open universities, they shall necessarily have the required departments and faculties prior to offering relevant programmes through distance mode.

(e) It would be mandatory for all universities and education institutions offering distance education to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in delivery of their programmes, management of the student and university affairs through a web portal or any other such platform. The said platform shall invariably, display in public domain, the information about the statutory and other approvals along with other necessary information about the programmes on offer through distance mode, their accreditation and students enrolled, year- wise, etc. This may be linked to a national database, as and when created, to facilitate the stakeholders to take a view on the recognition of the degrees for the purpose of academic pursuit or employment with/under them.

(f) All universities/education institutions shall make optimal use of e-learning contents for delivery/offering their programmes through distance mode. They shall also be encouraged/required to adopt e-surveillance technology for conduct of clean, fair and transparent examinations.

(g) The focus of distance education shall be to provide opportunity of education to people at educationally disadvantaged situations such as living in remote and rural areas, adults with no or limited access to education of their choice etc.

(h) In order to promote flexible and need based learning, choice-based credit system shall be promoted and all ODE institutions shall be encouraged to adopt this system and evolve a mechanism for acceptance and transfer of credits of the courses successfully completed by students in face-to-face or distance mode. For the purpose, establishment of a credit bank may be considered. Similarly, conventional universities, offering face to face mode programmes shall be encouraged to accept the credits earned by the students through distance mode. A switch over from annual to semester system shall be essential.

(i) Convergence of the face-to-face mode teaching departments of conventional universities with their distance education directorates/correspondence course wings as also with open universities/institutions offering distance education, shall be impressed upon to bridge the gap in distance and conventional face-to-face mode of education.

(j) Reputed Foreign education providers well established, recognized and accredited by competent authority in their country and willing to offer their education programmes in India shall be allowed, subject to the fulfillment of the legal requirement of the country.

(k) A National Information and Communication Technology infrastructure for networking of ODE institutions shall be created under National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology.

(l) Efforts would be made to create favourable environment for research in Open and Distance Education (ODE) system by setting up infrastructure like e- libraries, digital data-base, online journals, holding regular workshops, seminars etc.

(m) Training and orientation programmes for educators and administrators in ODE system with focus on use of ICT and self-learning practice, shall be encouraged.

(n) ODE institutions shall be encouraged to take care the educational needs of learners with disabilities and senior citizens.

(o) An official notification clarifying the issue of recognition of academic qualification, earned through distance mode, for the purpose of employment, shall be issued.

(p) A mechanism shall be set up for evaluation of degrees of foreign universities for the purpose of academic pursuit as well as for employment under the Central Government. This may include the assessment of the credentials of the university concerned as also to test the competence of the degree holder, if needed.

Nowadays, the New York City board of education is providing high incentives for in-state and out-of-state elementary education teachers such as offering free college degrees in education. State education standards have gone up and literacy rates have been fluctuating but education colleges applicant rates have been rising. Educators and administrators have come to realize that the gaps in literacy must be closed in the early elementary school years.

In recent years, the Board of Education has gone as far as to provide qualifying scholarships and housing benefits for prospective preservice and new teachers to teach at low-performing elementary schools.

So, which college degree education program will you apply for once you have been accepted? In the last ten years, teacher colleges have seen a rising number of student applicants for both undergraduate and graduate education degrees in New York City alone.

Here are a just few of accredited college degrees in New York City which have maintained throughout the years, a reputable name.

Early Childhood Education Colleges

Located on the upper west side, near Columbia University, the Bank Street College of Education has a diversified early childhood education program. There are numerous college education edgrees ranging from early childhood, to literacy, to teaching English as a second language - all under the umbrella framework of early childhood education. The college also has a rich source of teaching resources of ideas for professional development in education on a variety of topics such as literacy or becoming a tutor or volunteer. You do not need to sign up or register to gain access to these free resources.

The Hunter College of Education

This is another excellent pick for those seeking a college teaching degree in early education. However, college teaching degree also include adolescent education and childhood, literacy, TESOL, special education, gifted students and counseling ranging from the undergraduate to graduate level programs. the City Universities and colleges offer top college degrees in education, so it is well worth the research and financial aid is available for those who qualify.

Queens College of Education

The Princeton Review has rated Queens College as one of America’s best colleges for undergraduate education.It prepares prospective undergraduate and graduate students for the initial New York State initial certification in childhood education for grades 1-6 and early childhood education.

Columbia Teacher College offers graduate programs in teacher education.

Over to You

Narrowing your search by state is the first step to deciding what early childhood education or elementary program you want to pursue. Some have much more specialized fields of education study than others. It is best to know what area of education you wish to study before investing in one of the New York City college education degrees.

Introduction

The focus of entrepreneurship and innovation education and research at institutions of higher education ipso facto implies a wish to enhance the quality of graduate and post-graduate business venturing prospects as well as business know-how in the normally pre-entrepreneurial stage. This should happen within a sense-making framework that integrates the research and education agenda for graduate entrepreneurship. Further, an entrepreneurship and innovation education and research approach should be followed that guide the content of the competitive landscape in which the prospective entrepreneur will function and not lag behind and thereby looses its relevance.

Of particular importance to entrepreneurial education lies the ability of institutions of higher education to shift and circulate information and technologies across faculties despite different academic disciplines, professional codes, and academic language that act as academic venture boundaries. These boundaries frustrate the need to integrate entrepreneurship education throughout a higher education institution, thus inhibiting the smooth functioning of entrepreneurial education. Thus, a need exists to overcome these barriers by amalgamating the various faculties socially across faculties whereby entrepreneurial educators could play “bridging roles” by acting as “boundary spanners” between faculties and forming close cohesive networks through the whole institution. This will enable educators in entrepreneurial higher education to link otherwise unconnected faculties to facilitate the development of unique knowledge and access to special knowledge and opportunities. This create an advantage over the traditional structural design where educators were only part of a specific faculty cohesive group.

In the new economy, technology and knowledge production on which it is based, have become an intrinsic part of the economy. As a result, it may be envisaged that education and research in institutions of higher education will need to support the whole technology development process, which also include the process of innovation. In this regard, it may be more appropriate to develop education and research policies that addresses the whole technology-innovation chain instead of merely the research-development chain, as the research-innovation chain involves taking ideas, turning them into technologies and taking these, through research and development, out of the laboratory and proving them in real-world situations.

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to propose an educational governance framework for entrepreneurship and innovation at institutions of higher education to foster the upgrading of entrepreneurial competencies in students whilst preserving the traditional academic competencies of students and the provision of unique entrepreneurial opportunities to students to perform entrepreneurial tasks.

Non-boundary governance

Firstly, with regards to the governance of entrepreneurship education at higher education institutions it is proposed that it should be managed by an “inter-faculty-inter-industry committee” (boundary-spanning leadership is provided) in order to achieve a greater measure of integration (common building blocks is created) in terms of generic entrepreneurial skills requirements that cross over academic disciplines, whilst simultaneously making provision for the unique disciplinary requirements and needs of specific disciplines. This implies a shift away from the traditional independent faculty approach (functional myopia) which lacks commonly shared interests that is adopted by most universities and substituting it for a new re-configured structure able to create entrepreneurial value through a holistic, yet focussed approach (integrated birds eye view) among various faculties. This largely represents the antithesis of the traditional academic governance approach followed at the majority of institutions of higher education. However, it is considered necessary, as it is able to strike out higher potential for entrepreneurship and innovation directions through the whole academic supply chain. In essence a virtual horizontal department - operating on the basis of value chains - is created, without necessarily increasing the staff operational cost to the institution. Creating a virtual horizontal department will ensure that all employees (lecturing staff) interpret the market signals better, and ensure that customer and entrepreneurial concerns become known to all faculties, regardless of their function in the university leading to a better customer focus. By establishing an inter-faculty-inter-industry committee, opportunity is created for healthy and critical curriculum content debate (knowledge interaction), whilst module developers become better informed on borderline subjects and aspects. Even more essential is the protection that will be provided to ensure that the disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary entrepreneurship field of study is not vulnerable to the “tactic of isolation” by claiming academic ownership in one faculty.

Secondly, entrepreneurship and innovation cannot flourish within institutional isolation. Cross-fertilisation of national and international academic and industry business networks is required not only to build leading edge relevant curriculum content, but also to keep up to date with the dynamics in the field. In this regard it would be important to create entrepreneurial knowledge champions in each of the faculties, whilst still operating under the academic guidance of an Entrepreneurial Centre of Excellence that could coordinate all activities and ensure proper co-operation between faculties. In essence, the Entrepreneurial Centre of Excellence’s focus is to orchestrate the entrepreneurial functions in all the faculties. This will further ensure that the “big divide” in entrepreneurial education between faculties is largely eliminated. With regard to its functions within the institution the Entrepreneurial Centre of Excellence’s role could be to:

·Establish an operating and repertoire-building entrepreneurship and innovation education framework and technique approach applying to real-time methodologies;

·Facilitate new entrepreneurial and innovation horizons for the institution through the diffusion of new information, the establishment of dialogue processes, and the exploration of new required dynamic capabilities;

·Build entrepreneurial talent for intellectual entrepreneurship leadership; and

·Establish bonding entrepreneurial networks that form the nucleus of the core of the university’s entrepreneurial value system through web-connectivity, conferences and seminars, mobilising critical mass of people for innovation and the management of Memorandums of Understanding.

One need only to scan a newspaper or read a weekly magazine to be astounded by the number of stories about new medical breakthroughs, disease processes, emerging threats of disease, or innovations in medical and health care technology. The World Health Organization warns us to prepare for a potential worldwide Bird Flu epidemic, terrorists threaten us with chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, and new protocols for ACLS are released. How is a working nurse to keep up?

Nursing education provides the basic building blocks of medical, scientific, and nursing knowledge, but competence in the nursing profession requires an ongoing process of continuing education. Continuing education for nurses is necessary for the nurse to remain up to date with the latest practice issues and it is necessary for patients safety as well. Some states have made continuing education for nurses mandatory and require a certain number of course credit hours be attained before license renewal, or require certain mandatory course subjects, while other states leave it to the nursing professional themselves to accept a personal responsibility for their own continued learning. Regardless of whether nursing continuing education courses are mandatory in ones state or not, all nurses who describe themselves as professionals need to be willing and ready to implement change in their own practice by realizing that competence in any profession requires periodic updating.

Methods of obtaining nursing continuing education hours and the pros and cons of each:

1. Professional Journals: Most professional nursing journals offer an article for continuing education credit. Some offer a partial credit hour or one credit hour to readers who fill out a post test after reading the article and mail it in. While some journals offer the credit for free, others charge $10 or more and in addition to the inconvenience of needing to tear out a post test form and mail it in the nurse has no official record of having taken and passed the course. Obtaining continuing education hours through professional journals is costly and inefficient in that the cost of the journal itself must be taken into consideration along with the cost of the course if there is one, and the time and expense of mailing in addition to the lack of official record of completion and lack of central maintenance of all credits accumulated by the nurse. Additionally, nurses who rely on professional journals for their CEU hours are typically only exposed to courses related to their own specialty rather than a broader range of topics that they actually need to be exposed to in today’s ever evolving health care climate.

2. Seminars: Professional development programs and seminars that offer accredited continuing education hours for nurses are frequently offered at various locations in every state, in some foreign countries, and even on cruises. Employers frequently pay the registration fees for nurses to attend local seminars of short duration such as one day, but nurses still have to sacrifice their precious day off to attend them or lose time from work to do so. In addition nurses who attend seminars away from home have to pay their own travel expenses, hotel bills, and costs of meals. Needless to say cruises and foreign travel are an appealing avenue, but obtaining one’s continuing education by that method is not something every working nurse can afford to do.

3. Online Nursing Certificate Programs: The internet provides nurses access to extremely affordable and high quality accredited continuing education programs and professional certificate courses covering a plethora of professional nursing topics. Online nursing certificate courses are the gateway to nursing continuing education for the 21st century! Nurses who take advantage of online nursing courses are not restricted by geographical barriers, financial hardships, or the inconvenience of taking time from work or family in order to attend courses. Online nursing education courses are readily available for both mandatory state required subjects, courses in ones own nursing specialty, and courses that all nurses regardless of practice specialty need to be familiar with. Online nursing programs give nurses easy access to a much broader choice of subject matters than they ever had before when restricted primarily to journals or seminars. In addition to those benefits, substantial as they are, online nursing courses are inexpensive, up to date with changing trends, can be taken from the comfort of ones own home.

Education is very extensive field and provides you several diverse opportunities. Degree holders or teachers can concentrate on early, middle or secondary students. They can also work in administrative positions. Professionals can also specialize in designing teaching material, adult education or they can also get training as an administrative specialist such as principal or vice principal.

Goals of Earning Online Degrees in Education

Teaching is considered as very easy going profession. But if you really want to become a good teacher you must have multiple skill and expertise like ability of handling students, strong communication skills and talent to convince, motivate and train. After earning any online degree in education from top accredited online university or college you will be able to train students to resolve the problems. If you start your career as elementary teacher you will teach all subjects of basic level. But on secondary level you will teach subjects of your area of specialization. Higher level online degrees in education enable you for higher education positions such as community colleges, vocational schools and universities.

Online Degrees in Education

Several online degrees from associates to doctorate levels are available. Many top accredited online universities and top accredited online colleges offer online degrees in education. Following are the online degrees available.

o Associates Degree in Education
o Bachelors Degree in Education
o Masters Degree in Education
o Ph.D. Education Degree
o Degree in Early Childhood Education
o Master Degree in Education Administration

Online Associates in Education

Online Associates Degree in Education is ideal for working individual to make a career move. It is very beneficial because it is very focused and practical without vast time obligation of bachelor’s degree. You will focus on a general education courses that include sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. After earning associates level degree your potential career paths incorporate teaching in a Head Start program, Elementary school Para professional and teacher assistant. Associates degree is considered as initial level online degree in education.

Online Bachelors Degree in Education

Online Bachelors Degree in Education provides you option to become certified K-6 Teacher. You will get thorough knowledge of K-6 elementary teacher certification, advanced educational studies, human recourse development, corporate training and higher education. You can select any specific subject of your interest. You will be able to help young students to develop skills and acquiring knowledge. After earning online bachelors you can work as elementary/high school teacher, counselor, course developer, researcher and college professor.

Online Masters Degree in Education

Online Masters in education enables you to join better paying administrative jobs. Masters degree gives you the chance to become certified professional after bachelor. MAT or MIT and M.Ed. are the common master degrees available in education. You can continue to work as teacher or choose to work as principal or assistant principal. This degree provides opportunity to professionals to earn degree with job. You can earn this online degree in education to advance your career. Following are some master’s concentrations available

o Administration and supervision
o Adult education
o Distance learning
o Special education
o Curriculum and technology

Online Ph.D. Education Degree

Online Ph.D. degree is the highest level online degree in education. It is suitable for passionate professional wishes to gain higher grade job. It is basically for individuals already had teaching experience. After earning online masters degree you can teach as professor at university. You will also able to conduct research and apply what you learnt. You can specialize in elementary and secondary education, special education, adult education and higher education.

Online Degree in Early Childhood Education

Online degree in early childhood education is also an important online degree in education. After earning this degree you will be able to work with children below the typical school age between 3 and 5. Course work includes child psychology, parenting and early learning strategies.

Professional finds job in elementary or pre-schools. Early Childhood Education professionals effectively train young children during critical time in which formative learning, skill building and social growth takes place. Children who gain proper training at this stage of life can effectively find their way through the academic and social rigors that every student will have to face later in life. That’s why schools, families and government spend considerable money on early childhood education.

Online Master in Education Administration

Online Master in Education Administration is a unique online degree in education. It is designed for education professionals who have keen interest in administration issues. Course work includes education finance, school law, duties of principal, community relation and supervision of personnel. Degree needs internship experiences in school administration at administrative and principal level. Plenty of jobs are available in educational administration. Educational administrators can work on variety of jobs ranging from day care administrator to college president or school principal. Administrators have good communication skills and able to prepare budgets, supervise student’s progress, manage everyday operations, fund raise, designing policies and standards and command institute to maintain the state and national standards.

Getting an education is hard work. Some of that work comes in the form of just making a decision to get one. Graduating from high school can be a daunting experience when you are in your late teens. You are just becoming an adult and have hardly begun to learn how to make important life decisions of your own. Asking you parents or mentors what you should do just confuses you more. Thinking that getting an education is always a good idea, you might decide to go ahead and get one. Then you are faced with a quandary of career choices and wonder which one you should choose. It is important that you choose one and pursue it with all of your heart. Remember what they say about first impressions? They are usually right. If you follow your heart’s motivation, you will find that the education that you are pursuing is the right choice for you. Here are some insights on making some of those decisions and the benefits of getting an education from an online distance education program.

The major motivating factors behind getting an education are money and reputation, what one is thought to be by others. Taking the opportunity to increase the potential of increased income is always a worthy venture. Statistically, getting an education does that for you. The average wage earned in 2005 by a college graduate was $51,206. The average wage earned by a high school graduate was $27,915. The average wage earned by those with no high-school diploma earned was $18,734. Even in an unhealthy economy, $51,206 is a lot more than $27,915 or $18,734. Which one would you rather have?

Reputation comes with being an expert in your field. For the most part, I think, the expertise that we come out of high school will be a reputation of another sort. I remember priorities in high school being relationships, foot ball, dances, and other assorted illegal substances. But there are those who realize the importance of taking a career aim while in high school that will give them a great head start in life. They hold off on the fun stuff like going to work right away and getting married. They put a priority on their education and delay the gratification that some of us pursued so vigorously in high school.

You didn’t see much of this group. They stayed in the shadows of mathematics and science. They always had their noses in their books. They actually held intelligent conversations with their teachers. I don’t know how many times I heard from another student that a teacher was boring. When these students spoke with each other, they were always talking about their studies. I found them very boring and, well boring just like their teachers!

Something happens to an adolescent while in high school. I here it happens earlier with female students than with males. Sometimes we grow up. Realizing that the life we have in the homes of our parents will not last forever, we make the decisions that will last a lifetime. Who do we want to be? What do we want to do? We decide to continue our education, not because high school was so much fun, but we know that we are not yet ready to strike out on our own. If we did now, we would never reach the goals of affluence desired.

Affluance, as a result of education, can be attained at any stage of life. We are taught that earlier is better. The perfect student does perfectly well in high school, does not let the events of life at that age get in the way of a higher cause, chooses a very ambitious college or university program, never misses a class and graduates with honors every time. They also have a lot of interviews lined up with very prestigious companies on the day they graduate from college. They wait at least a year in their first position before even considering taking on a relationship, and when they do, it is with someone like them. They make enough money to be able to afford day-care. And their kids? They grow up to be just like mom and dad.

OK, this does not sound realistic, does it? Some of us mess it up real good and wish for a second chance. While working, and raising a family, we want to upgrade our education so we can get that $51,206 or more. If you are not lucky enough to be close to an educational institution, the internet provides some of the best opportunities to upgrade your educational level through something called an online distance education or an online education program.

An online distance education program is usually self paced so it is easy to fit into a tight schedule. Distance learning is pretty much self explanatory. It means learning from a distance. You can get your education from a university in Arizona even if you do not live in the state of Arizona on the internet today. This kind of education comes with all of the benefits of traditional on-campus education except the requirement to live on campus, socialize on campus, and eat at the campus dining rooms. It even comes with financial aid if you need it. Most of us that desire to upgrade our education level, especially later in life, really do not want the kind of activity level offered by on-campus life anyhow. An online distance education program is a real money saver where you can focus on your studies and get that elusive bump to your annual income that you have always deserved, even while raising a family.

Those leading hectic and sometimes overwhelming lives - young and old - are beginning to discover online education as a convenient niche in learning. Because the Internet has vastly expanded its reaches to society, one of the greatest evolutions has been the expansion of online learning and distance education schools. While we live, eat and breathe the Internet 24/7 these days, online schools provide an innovative way to integrate higher education into our busy lifestyles!

Today, one can earn online degrees or certificates in diverse fields through online courses that are readily accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As an off-campus student, individuals can gain access to fully-accredited online coursework and degree programs without ever having to leave the comfort of their own homes or personal offices, thus creating a more relaxed learning atmosphere.

Currently, there are virtually hundreds of online colleges and universities that cater to the needs of working people and/or homebound individuals. Helping students to succeed in their educational and career aspirations, distance learning online schools are fast becoming a convenient, and credible educational tool of the modern era.

Whether you wish to attain online continuing education units, or simply want to fulfill your career goals by earning an online degree in a particular field, an online education can meet or exceed your expectations.

Some individuals do not fully comprehend the extensive online education opportunities that presently exist; aside from online certification and continuing education courses, ambitious students can conveniently earn Associate Degrees right on up to Doctorate Degrees, depending on the desired field of study.

According to a survey report by Sloan-Consortium, “…almost two-thirds of all schools offering face-to-face courses also offer online courses.”[1] This reiterates the evolutional quality and prevalence of online courses, the way they have already impacted learning institutions, and how online schools are meeting the growing demands of a busy society.

The fields of study offered online include: Accounting Administration Aeronautics Arts Business CAD Computer Information Systems Cosmetology Criminal Justice Engineering Health Services Administration High School Diploma Metaphysics and hundreds of other fields!

In recent years, even NASA began offering online educational prospects for researchers and educators by providing Internet access to expand opportunities for educational grants and funding, and for online learning in the classroom [2]. Additionally, online education has evolved to include home-school education to children K-12. Some online schools provide distance education material developed by expert educators to give students a full curriculum, necessary materials, and interactive learning tools.

Constructing one’s daily schedule in the most ‘time-effective’ way is the key to success today, considering the pace at which everybody’s life is running. Leverage the ‘Time factor’ and you have made it to the top. This explains the increasing significance of online education. This is why the number of online schools and colleges has increased significantly across in the United States (US) and other parts of the world. This indicates the growing shift towards online education.

Here are some of the most important advantages and benefits that online education offers, which you may consider in case you are looking out for various options to pursue higher education at your own pace and without disturbing your schedule.

Accessibility: Thanks to online education, the distance from the campus is no longer a barrier that separates education and the students. Today’s generation of students has the advantage of utilizing their time effectively, since there is distant online education available to them. To access online learning, all that the students need to do is to install the contemporary communication equipment such as computer and Internet and enroll for the desired courses online.

Student-Centered Learning: The students dictate the learning experience in online education. Here because the teacher is not teaching you all the time, you have the liberty to prioritize your schedule and complete the assignments as per your convenience. In online mode of education, the students are at freedom to select their learning methodology. The choices available are audio, video, or oral components.

Fair Playing Field: Online education is growing in popularity also because it promises a level playing field for the people participating in it. Learning online does away the bias and colored decision-making based on ethnicity, physical appearance, race or gender of the student. Here, the sole criterion of evaluation is the performance of the student.

Convenience and Flexibility: Online mode of education offers the participants the flexibility of gaining access to the lessons online. This is very convenient and does not hamper the education process if the student is not staying at a convenient location. Moreover, online education and learning has overcome the barrier of time. This allows the students to attend lectures for various subjects as per their schedules. Therefore in online education the students have an opportunity to set the priority of their schedule and execute the tasks at hand accordingly.

Most students prefer online education because it eliminates the necessity of them going away from their parents to pursue their goal. With online education all you need to succeed in your courses is installation of contemporary communications equipment and motivation to succeed.

Interaction: Online mode of education offers an opportunity of purposeful interaction to the students at a higher level with their instructors as well as with their fellow students. The courses in online mode of education are designed in a way that each student gets an opportunity to offer their contribution to the discussions related to a subject and offer peer reviews.

Online education is spreading across the globe like a wildfire fueled by textbooks and periodic tables. Millions who previously thought that a college degree was firmly out of their reach have discovered that all it takes to attend college in today’s world are the combination of a few free hours each day and access to the Internet. Perhaps because of the ease of taking classes at one’s leisure, online education continues to be growing trend in the United States and around the world.

Online Education Equals Big Business

Originally conceived as a way for adults to earn a GED or college degree later in life than usual, online education or “distance learning” has spread to the point that people of all ages are now involved. Children as young as the fourth grade level now have access to online education in many areas, using it as a supplement to or in place of traditional classes. This translates into dollars and sense for the business community and, according to a November 2004 report on CNN’s website; it was predicted as early as 2001 that online education would become a $23 billion industry by the end of 2004.

With Online Education Everybody Wins

Part of the appeal to online education is that it is literally good for everyone. Educators can enter a new job market in writing and implementing an online curriculum and can use this income to supplement the earnings that receive from classroom education. Students of all ages have an alternative to traditional classes in which they can learn without the interference of other students’ behavioral interruptions. Adults who may have missed out on their high school diplomas or college degrees now have the opportunity, through online education, to complete or further their studies without the scheduling problems that may have made this impossible in the past. The public benefits from saved tax dollars; every student that participates in an online educational program represents a reduced burden on the taxpayer funded public education system. Finally, online education offers businesses the chance to educate their workforce at a lower cost and the benefit of a generation of computer literate and more highly educated prospective employees entering the job market.