State of California prohibits a major in education??

why does the state of california prohibit a major in education to be offered at a UC schools? Only a minor is allowed. the CSU schools offer a major in liberal studies. Why is this so?

This is because CA wants its teachers to have a solid education in the subject they are teaching. Liberal studies is appropriate for primary school teachers, since they teach every subject. In addition to a 4-year degree in an actual subject, teachers have to get a teaching credential which is usually a one-year program, and many teachers get a masters in education.

Really? Wow, you would think they would want their teachers to have majors in teaching... That's wierd!

The only possible answer i can think of is that they had a huge influx of education majors and California was being saturated by out of work teachers

This is due to a law called the Ryan Act. Probably the best way to make sense of it is to read this testimonial arguing against a bill that would have weakened the Ryan Act: http://irascibleprofessor.com/breaking-n...

The short answer is they felt it was more important that teachers be educated in an actual field of study rather than knowing more about teaching methods than the actual subjects.

California's philosophy is to have teachers well-rounded in their undergraduate studies, focusing on the substantive subjects they are interested in teaching.

The fundamentals of educational theory are then pursued through the credentialling process, by adding a minor in education, and/or post-graduate studies.