Picking a masters program as a History/Social Studies Educator - Part I
Asking the right questions and what you need to know.
This essay is Part I of a series on graduate education for history and social studies educators.
One of the most frequent questions that I field as a historian who has taught in both secondary education and higher ed, and who has also worked in teacher preparation is about continuing teacher education. Because of the incentives that salary schedules and “No Child Left Behind” have created in getting a masters degree, many history and social studies teachers decide to pursue graduate work in history. Generally speaking, I think this is a great thing. Many history and social studies teachers are, in my opinion, under prepared in their content area because of the tendency of teacher preparation programs to concentrate on pedagogy versus subject matter expertise. Additionally, a good graduate program will socialize the history/social studies teacher into the norms of the historical profession, something that is lacking in teacher preparation programs, simply for the fact that the point of those programs is to socialize students into the teaching profession. Don’t get me wrong, these observations aren’t a dig at educator preparation programs. I think these programs are very worthwhile and needed. However, I do wish that the average social studies teacher preparation program was more integrated into a history or social science program of study so that teachers have better content knowledge.
I’ve found that the questions many teachers have regarding MA programs begin by centering the online / in-person question. However, this is generally the wrong starting point for thinking about graduate education for teachers. The most important question to ask is: what are your motivations and goals for getting your masters degree? Are you wanting to improve your content knowledge? Do you want to become a historian and master the arts of historical research and writing? Are you wanting to become a department chair or social studies curriculum specialist? Do you want to teach dual enrollment courses or adjunct courses? Do you want to teach at community college or university? Is there something else motivating you?
Your answer might be a combination of any or all of these goals, combined with a possible raise in pay from your district, and the possibility that your state or district requires you to earn a masters to retain your certification. Once you have identified what your purposes are, it will be much easier to answer the other questions.
If your goal is to become a historian and master research and writing, which also entails teaching in dual enrollment, teaching as an adjunct, or teaching at the community college or university level, then your best bet is to take courses in-person. Generally speaking, in-person graduate courses in history are one of two kinds: readings/historiography course, which focus on acquainting you with the most important literature in the field and what has been generally been written about the topic under study; and seminar courses, which while also heavy on reading, are focused on the production of an article length research paper on the topic under study. Your class time will generally be spent discussing the assigned reading for the week (usually one book, and one or two journal articles or book chapters), focused on breaking down the thesis of the author, the evidence that they use to make their arguments, and how they employ that evidence. The discussion is typically led by a student, and all students are expected to carry the conversation. A good class session involves plenty of debate, as students try their hand at historical interpretation and argumentation. Additionally, your professors will have you focus on primary sources and how to read them for different purposes, as well as the meaning of archives and how and why they are constructed. Debates will include plenty of talk about ethics and philosophy of history, and slowly but surely, you will learn not only the important literature and the latest arguments in the field, but you will also be socialized into the norms of the historian, how to conduct research, and the craft and ethics of writing and publishing. This is a different world than that inhabited by the typical high school history teacher, though the two roles are both important and inner-dependent.
The majority of these important activities occur in a classroom, in-person, face to face. While it is definitely possible to have debates in online discussion forums or live chat sessions, it is difficult to do so well. It is much easier to debate and argue in-person. Online MA programs generally involve much less in-depth discussion and argumentation, unless the courses are offered synchronously. Even then, it is still much easier to debate and argue in-person. Generally, while asynchronous MA programs will generally include some discussion online, the majority of the coursework is focused more on independently learning the historiography of a topic, and research skills. Asynchronous courses are much more like independent study course, with some discussion thrown in. These types of programs are better suited for improving content knowledge than they are in socializing the student into the role of a historian. That isn’t to say that you must attend an in-person program if you want to become a historian, but I can tell you that it will definitely be easier if you do.
In Part II, I will address alternatives to an M.A. in History, before turning to suggestions for online programs.