Studying the subject academically in any real capacity.
What do you mean by "in any real capacity"? I have read many books and academic papers about education. And I have experimented with some of the things I've learned. Does that count?Among current K-12 teachers in the United States, what would you estimate is the median number of academic/research papers related to education or adjacent fields that they have read in the past 24 months?
in the US, every teaching degree requires
A teaching degree is neither necessary not sufficient for effective teaching. There are thousands of ineffective teachers with US teaching degrees. There are thousands of effective teachers without teaching degrees."There are thousands of effective teachers without teaching degrees."
I doubt it. And there are countless thousands more that are terrible and whose kids are very behind.