Teaching
Becoming a teacher
If you want to teach in a primary or secondary comprehensive school, you will need to obtain a postgraduate qualification of some kind. There are a number of routes to this: some are gained through on-the-job learning and others from combining university work with the classroom.
If you are considering a career in education that doesn't necessarily involve teaching, or are already teaching and would like to develop your skills, there are postgraduate courses at masters and PhD level that may be suitable.
- - PGCE and Qualified Teacher Status
- - Government funding
Funding
Don't be put off training to be a teacher because you think you can't afford it: there is plenty of financial help available. Once qualified you will start on a decent salary with good career development prospects.
For 2013/14, a training bursary of up to £20,000 is available in certain subjects with an additional premium available in some schools.
Case studies
Postgraduate teacher training case studies
Postgraduate profile: Initial teacher training, PGCE primary education
Postgraduate profile: PGCE in secondary IT
Postgraduate profile: Initial teacher training; graduate teacher programme
Postgraduate profile: Initial teacher training; PGCE secondary science
Postgraduate profile: MPhil and DPhil classical archaeology, University of Oxford
What is qualified teacher status?
QTS stands for qualified teacher status and is the required standard for all teachers in state-maintained schools, as well as some independent institutions, in England and Wales. This can be achieved through a number of different means, all of which come under the umbrella term of Initial Teacher Training (ITT).
These include:
- - PGCE (postgraduate or professional certificate of education)
- - SCITT (school-centred initial teacher training)
- - EBITT (employment-based initial teacher training)
- - OTTP (overseas trained teacher programme)
Research
Find out more about teaching as a profession through the Teaching Agency (responsible for initial training), and the Careers Service.
Read online
Read the digital edition of TARGETcourses Teaching 2013
Professional teaching bodies and associations
Organisations in the UK include the General Teaching Council for England, and the College of Teachers as well as a number of subject specific associations.
Featured
Featured postgraduate teaching courses: PGCE, PhD, MA, GTP from Oxford Brookes, Cardiff Metropolitan, Sheffield Hallam, Nottingham Trent, BCU and Edge Hill.
