education specialist

[kaysixteen]

I was reading through a school website today and the school principal was listed as 'Mr. John Smith, Ed.S.'.   I had no idea what this was, except that it is obviously not some sort of doctorate, hence the 'MR. John Smith'.   A quick Wikipedia search revealed that these are the initials of the 'education(al) specialist', a post-master's thing that seems to be most/ all of the coursework for an ed doctorate, sans dissertation.  Anyone know more?

[little bongo]

Here's a description, along with some material selling the benefits of the Ed.S.--can give you a broader idea:

https://www.waldenu.edu/education-specialist/resource/what-is-an-education-specialist-degree

[kaysixteen]

Hmmmm... is this sort of credential something that would actually be granted by an institution whose academic reputability perhaps, ah, ahem, exceeds Walden U, or is it likely what it appears from the Walden site to be?

[Puget]

Hmmmm... is this sort of credential something that would actually be granted by an institution whose academic reputability perhaps, ah, ahem, exceeds Walden U, or is it likely what it appears from the Walden site to be?

It is a legitimate credential offered by many institutions.

[darkstarrynight]

An example: for CACREP accredited counseling masters programs, the masters degree requires twice as many credits as a typical masters so some programs converted them to Ed.S. programs to reflect the additional work and time.

[kaysixteen]

Questions:

1) What is the substantive  difference in overall skills and knowledge obtainment between someone who gets an Ed.S. vs someone who goes all the way and gets an Ed.D.?

2) Am I right to assume that, ahem, Walden U's credentials are sub-legitimate?

[Scout]

Walden has HLC accreditation (regional accreditation). It may be for-profit, and be focused on driving revenue, but it's not a scam.