Air Force Education and Training

Joining the Air Force provides a wealth of educational opportunities. In addition to the training and education provided by the Air Force during service, many options outside of the military become available. After completing an Associate’s degree with the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), airmen have a vast number of Bachelor’s programs open to them, which can lead to advanced degrees. Officers likewise have the ability to proceed on to a Master’s or even Doctoral program. For both, Tuition Assistance (TA) helps obtain a degree while still serving, while the GI Bill provides maximal benefits when used after separation.

Finding a meaningful program of study is also important when considering options for further Air Force education and training. Universities have started to offer very diverse programs of study in the past decade, allowing students the option of remaining in their current field even after transitioning to the civilian world. This option is open even to those who have served in specialties such as intelligence or counterterrorism. When considering further Air Force education and training, students should keep programs that will allow them to capitalize on their current skills and experience in mind.

While they are extremely valuable, Veteran’s Administration benefits can also be confusing and difficult to navigate. While base education offices are often helpful, finding a school that is used to working with military members and the VA can save a student a lot of time and headaches. Individual schools can also shed light on which benefits package to choose, when multiple options are available, and how to make the best of any given package. Prospective students should begin exploring benefits options at the beginning of their college searches, and should ask college representatives whether they have experience with military students.

When furthering your Air Force education and training, military-friendly schools can also be helpful for other reasons. They are accustomed to student deployments, and are more likely to have policies in place to handle unexpected orders. They are also more likely to be used to an older student population, with students who may work full-time or have families. Meanwhile, military students are very unlikely to encounter any sort of hostility related to their service, and are likely to find a welcoming atmosphere in student discussions. Distance education options are also especially valuable to students who seek to further their Air Force education and training. Taking courses online allows airmen and officers to continue their education despite PCS moves. Although this will not be an option for everyone, some students have even been able to continue coursework while deployed.

Prospective students who are new to online education should not let this deter them. A good online university will make its courses and procedures straightforward, and will be willing to answer questions when asked. Many officers who earned their degrees from brick-and-mortar institutions have found the transition to online education easy. Meanwhile, those who have taken courses through CCAF will already be comfortable with online learning. Prospective students should remember that online courses require students to take more initiative, and that finding the time to study or complete assignments may not be as easy as it sounds. However, the qualities that serve airmen and officers well in the service will also translate well into educational endeavors.

Although finding and completing the right degree or certificate program is no small challenge, the benefits it can add to your Air Force education and training are worth the effort. Further education can mean a promotion, a better position, or a better civilian career upon separation. Therefore, prospective students should seriously consider their educational options.

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Recruitment Into Initial Teacher Education and Training: A Caribbean Perspective

The need to recruit teachers into Initial Teacher Education and Training (ITET) is a worldwide occurrence. However, for the Caribbean region, the challenge is made worse when looked at in light of the fact that trained Caribbean teachers are being recruited to serve in other countries and regions.

Mike Baker, the British Broadcasting Cooperation’s (BBC) education correspondent in his 2002 article entitled United Kingdom ‘poaching’ Jamaican teachers, pointed out that between 2001 and 2002 six hundred teachers (600) left the island to work abroad, mostly in the United States and the United Kingdom. During that same period, the United Kingdom government issued six thousand (6,000) work permits to teachers from outside the European Community.

The global demands for teachers including those from the Caribbean offer the region both a challenge and an opportunity. A challenge in that new teachers need to be attracted, recruited, educated and trained and an opportunity, in that, trained teachers who seek economic independence can achieve it by practising their craft in an economically buoyant community.

While there are many strategies for encouraging the recruitment of people into ITET, given the social, cultural, political and educational context of each Caribbean state, it is not easy to discern what will and will not work. Pulling on the results of a number of regional studies, here are some suggestions.

1. Undertake innovative and strategic approaches to policy development in the area of ITET. Policies are needed that would direct actions and guide innovations, thus boosting people’s trust in the process and product of ITET.

2. Formulate policies to address the nature and kinds of academic qualifications offered and the standards at which local teacher education and training institutions operate.

3. Develop policies on the process of recruitment into ITET and on the promotion of teaching and the identification of appropriate target populations for recruitment.

4. Offer competitive and internationally recognized bachelor’s programmes in education.

5. Develop a clearly articulated alternative paradigm for career structure and its underlying values in the region, coupled with efforts to improve the economic status of teachers. In countries where teaching is thought of as extremely important, teachers are relatively well compensated hence teaching is viewed as a relatively well-paying job, the supply of new teachers is high and there is a low-le

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