Information for students

Education caters for a range of educational practitioners' professional development needs, from secondary through to adult workplace teaching and learning and TESOL. Undergraduate and postgraduate courses across these areas provide a rich teaching and learning environment, combining theory and practice with unique opportunities to discover more about learning in a variety of contexts – in schools, vocational colleges, corporations and learning centres in Australia and overseas.

Recognition of prior learning policy

Education recognises both formal and informal prior learning. For more information consult the faculty's policy on recognition of prior learning.

Academic liaison officers

As part of Education's equity plan, an academic liaison officer is available to help students with physical, psychiatric and medical issues and other special needs. The liaison officers negotiate with lecturers on students' behalf for any reasonable adjustments required to ensure equity of educational opportunity. This may include provision of signers, notetakers, extensions of time, alternative assessment tasks and special exam conditions.

Fredericka van der Lubbe

telephone +61 2 9514 7489

Computing facilities for UTS: Education students

Education students can get access to the digital media learning space in Building 10 (CB10). This facility incorporates leading-edge concepts in educational design and technology including powerful Macintosh computers updated with common up-to-date software installed for document production, web authoring, and video and image editing. They are compatible with a range of foreign language fonts and Education students have access to these facilities when classes are not in progress.

Students looking to hone their presentations can access some teaching spaces in Building 10 which are equipped with data projectors linked to electronic lecterns. These equipment are in-turn integrated with a computer, audio-visual equipment, and sound system for media rich learning experiences. Finally, there is also an open space general access computing laboratory and Student Print Centre on the street level of Building 10.

International links

Education has a history of strong international links and has offered programs in Laos, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, the South Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. The most popular courses with international students are in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and individual subjects done in study abroad programs.

Teacher education

Education offers pre-service teacher education courses for beginning teachers in secondary education.

Teacher education is offered in a full-length degree, which is taken as a combined course. The combined courses include the Bachelor of Science Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10404), Bachelor of Communication (Writing and Publishing) Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10405), Bachelor of Engineering Studies Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10406), Bachelor of Business Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10449), and Bachelor of Economics Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10450). All courses provide a fully recognised teaching qualification in secondary education in their respective teaching areas.

Course progression criteria exist for these combined courses and students are required to:

• satisfactorily complete the NSW Government’s LANTITE Literacy and Numeracy test before progressing to the first Professional Experience supervised teaching placement in Year 3
• achieve credit average results at the completion of 96 credit points (typically at the end of Year 2). Students who do not achieve a credit average will be transferred to the relevant standalone Bachelor degree. Upon completion, they are eligible to apply to the Master of Teaching in Secondary Education via the regular graduate entry pathway.

Postgraduate secondary teacher education is offered as a two-year degree as the Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C04255), for students with a recognised bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent or higher qualification. The course offers major studies in English, Mathematics, Science (Biology and/or Chemistry and/or Earth and Environmental Science and/or Physics), HSIE (Business Studies and/or Economics and/or Society and Culture and/or Legal Studies), English/HSIE, English/EAL/D, Science/Mathematics, HSIE/Mathematics, Science/EAL/D, Mathematics/EAL/D, and Mathematics/Physics.

Other postgraduate courses are designed for qualified and experienced teachers who wish to extend their professional skills. More details are available on the postgraduate course information page.

People considering teaching as a career should be aware that teachers need:

• high levels of competence in literacy and numeracy and in oral communications. Formal and informal support is provided within the university
• high levels of competence, or the willingness to achieve competence, in information and communication technologies, and
• a fundamental interest in learning.

Initial teacher education courses

The initial teacher education courses available are:

• Bachelor of Science Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10404)
• Bachelor of Communication (Writing and Publishing) Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10405)
• Bachelor of Engineering Studies Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10406)
• Bachelor of Business Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10449)
• Bachelor of Economics Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C10450)
• Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C04255)

The Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C04255) is designed to prepare students to teach in secondary schools. Students must already have a degree majoring in their teaching area. The course combines professional experience, contextual studies and methods subjects in the student's major. Depending on the student's previous degree, there is also the possibility of a second teaching subject. There are two professional experience placements.

All applicants to any of the teacher education courses must submit a personal statement as part of their application.

Professional experience

Professional experience contains two interlinked elements:

• campus-based studies that examine the range of theoretical issues, skills and procedures central to effective pedagogical practice, and

• professional experience placements in schools

These combined elements foster the development of professional knowledge, skills and attitudes with which teachers should begin their careers. Through its provision of developmentally sequenced and integrated campus and field-based experience, the professional experience streams promote learning about learning, learning about self, learning about school life and learning about teaching.

In accordance with UTS Student Rule 10.6, students who fail a professional experience subject twice are not allowed to re-enrol in the subject. Further, Rule 10.6.4 indicates that students who are unable to re-enrol in a compulsory subject are informed of alternative enrolment in the Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies, or exclusion from the University and the appeal process.

It is mandatory that all students participating in professional experience placements (including internships that require them to supervise students without the presence of a qualified teacher) are required to complete a Working With Children Check with the Office of the Children's Guardian. The Department of Education, on the basis of the Working With Children Check, reserves the right to reject or suspend the participation of any student in such programs. It is expected that such security checks also apply to all students attending all schools as well as NSW departmental schools.

Other mandatory checks include:

• NSW Department of Education Child Protection Awareness Training (a one off training program)
• NSW Department of Education Child Protection Update (needs to be completed each year)
• NSW Department of Education Working With Children Check Declaration for Child Related Work – Tertiary Practicum Students (a one off form submission)
• ASCIA anaphylaxis training (needs to be completed every two years)
• LANTITE
• UTS inherent requirements

Full details are provided in professional experience programs.

See MyPlacement (professional experience allocation system for teacher education).

Teaching areas

The Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C04255) offers major studies in the following areas:

• English
• Mathematics
• Science (Biology and/or Chemistry and/or Earth and Environmental Sciences and/or Physics)
• Combined Science (can combine two of the available Science options)
• Science/Mathematics
• HSIE (Business studies and/or Economics and/or Legal Studies and/or Society and Culture)
• Combined HSIE (can combine two of the available HSIE options)
• English/English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D)
• English/HSIE
• HSIE/Mathematics
• Mathematics/English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D)
• Science/English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D)
• Mathematics/Physics

Contextual studies

Subjects within the contextual studies stream encourage students to draw on perspectives gained from all components of their degree, so that in the latter part they can refine and articulate their personal theories of learning and justify them with reference to research evidence from classroom practice and theoretical insights.

Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies

Students who were originally admitted into the:

• Bachelor of Teaching in Secondary Education (C08002)
• Bachelor of Education in Primary Education (C10206)
• Bachelor of Education Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (C10208)
• Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Education (C10350)
• Bachelor of Education Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (C10349)
• Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C04255)

have the opportunity of transferring to the three-year Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies (C10209) (subject to the approval of the course coordinator). This degree does not provide qualifications to teach.

For further details contact:

telephone 1300 ask UTS (1300 275 887)
Ask UTS