To receive an elementary education degree you will typically need to finish high school or complete a general educational development (GED) program and then be accepted at a college or university. You will then need to complete a program in elementary education to receive a bachelor’s degree, usually taking about four years to finish. This program will focus on educational strategies when dealing with younger students and on different subjects since you will typically teach different classes, rather than a single subject as is found in secondary education. Once you finish the necessary coursework, you can receive your elementary education degree, and can complete whatever steps are necessary to be certified to teach in your area.
The first thing you will likely need to do to begin working on an elementary education degree is to receive a high school diploma or equivalent certification. You will typically need this to continue working on a degree at a college or university. Once you have received such a diploma, you will need to apply to and be accepted at a college or university that offers a program in elementary education. This is also often referred to as primary education, and an elementary education degree will usually prepare you to teach the first seven years of standard education.
Education, in the US and some other areas, is typically referred to as “K through 12,” referring to kindergarten through 12th grade. The first seven years, kindergarten to sixth grade, are called primary or elementary education, and an elementary education degree will prepare you for teaching these classes. Secondary education, seventh through 12th grade, is a separate type of program and usually includes a specific subject of focus to teach. An elementary education degree, on the other hand, will typically focus on education in general and a sufficient knowledge of multiple subjects needed to teach primary education.
Once you are accepted at a university, you will need to attend classes and work on your elementary education degree according to the requirements of the school. You will typically learn about educational concepts such as different learning styles, teaching pedagogies, classroom management, and developmental psychology. Since a teacher in primary education usually teaches all of the classes for a group of students, you will also likely learn about various subjects such as language, math, science, and history in order to teach them at an elementary level. Once you complete your coursework and receive an elementary education degree, then you will typically need to pass tests to be certified to teach in the country or region in which you wish to be an educator.