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What Is an Education Professor and How to Become One


What Is an Education Professor?

An education professor is a faculty member at a college or university who teaches courses about particular topics related to education, teaching, and learning. As an education professor, your job duties include preparing lesson plans for classes, working with students to develop them as future educators, conducting educational research, and writing and publishing work that contributes to the field of education. Your other responsibilities may include supervising and advising students through their student teaching internships, attending education conferences, and serving on committees for your college or university.

What Are the Requirements to Become an Education Professor?

The minimum qualifications to become an education professor are a master’s degree in teaching or education as well as previous teaching experience. However, you likely can only get a job as an adjunct education professor with those qualifications. To fully become an education professor, you must have at least a master’s degree and be working toward your doctorate in education. You need strong teaching and research skills as well as interpersonal communication skills to work with students and to collaborate with your colleagues in the field of education.

What Skills Make an Effective Education Professor?

To be an effective education professor, you need experience in teaching the subjects and grade levels that your college or university students want to teach. Having this experience gives you perspective into the challenges your students may face so you can better support and prepare them. You must be a skilled communicator, able to share ideas and concepts as well as actively listen to the needs and tribulations your students experience as they work to become educators. You must be good at providing constructive feedback on your students’ work so they can improve as learners and teachers.