Study Education (Secondary) and graduate with a university degree

1st in Scotland for Education (The Times Good University Guide, 2010, and in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise)

Where can I gain practical and hands-on experience that will allow me to qualify to teach in secondary schools? How can I best support effective learning? How can I ensure that all learners feel valued, safe and included?

Stirling is distinctive among Scottish universities in offering concurrent courses to prospective secondary school teachers. These degree courses enable you to gain a research-informed degree in Professional Education with an appropriate teaching subject (or subjects) for secondary in four years, rather than the traditional five.

These qualifications are recognised throughout the UK and the world. Successfully completing the course enables you to provisionally register in the appropriate sector with the General Teaching Council for Scotland and enter the Scottish probationary scheme.

This course is accredited by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

Year 1

All subjects BBBB. Please note that for 2013 the entry qualifications for certain combinations may increase.

Year 2

Available only if teaching subject(s) permit this. Year 2 entry with two teaching subjects is rarely available.

Other information

If examinations are taken over two sittings, or there are repeats or upgrades, the entrance requirements may be higher.
General entry requirements apply.

Further requirements

Entry to the professional education course is provisional until the end of Year 1 and subject to interview and a criminal record PVG check, which must be carried out before you undertake teaching practice in schools and micro teaching/link practice.

Possession of a criminal record may preclude you from registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland and may debar you from proceeding with the ITE course. If you have a criminal record you should contact the Admissions Manager in confidence.

Required subjects

Higher English/ESOL (C), or GCSE English Language and English Literature (C), or SQA Communication 4 and Literature 1.

Some subjects have additional subject requirements — please check individual subject pages

information on possible sources of funding

Full-time study (three modules per semester). Part-time study (one or two modules per semester) in the early stages of the degree.

Teaching placements cannot be undertaken on a part-time basis.

It is very difficult to undertake a professional education degree on a part-time basis.

The University currently has an access programme which permits adult returners to gain entry to various degree studies. The programmes offered by the School of Education are open to applicants who wish to gain entry through this route, and a proportion of our intake is set aside for this. Due to the nature of the degree, and the requirement to have completed modules EDU9E1 and EDU9E2 before progressing onto Year 2 of study, direct access to Year 2 would necessitate a candidate having gained appropriate experience/qualifications elsewhere, generally in a higher education setting.  Direct entry into Year 2 is at the discretion of the Director of ITE.

Entry to this degree is highly competitive. Applications received after 15 January will not normally be considered.

Please note that the main focus of this course is on teaching children and you should be able to demonstrate an aptitude for this.

Physical Education

For Physical Education competence across a variety of physical activities should also be displayed (for example, games, dance, gymnastics, swimming). Selectors are likely to give particular consideration to applicants who have outdoor activity experience and/or who have experience in working with children at some level of responsibility (for example, playschemes, coaching).

You will usually follow eight semesters (four years) which leads to an Honours degree in the chosen teaching subject(s) and Professional Education. Alternatively, seven semesters (three and a half years) lead either to a General degree, or to a Bachelor's degree in Professional Education. General degree students may only be able to qualify in one teaching subject.

Semesters 1 – 2

You will take the following core modules:

• Education: Purposes, Principles and Practice
• Education: Learning and Teaching

Semesters 3 – 6

You will take a range of core and advanced modules in Education which cover a range of teaching skills in your academic subjects (see subject listings).

You will undertake two school placements, each lasting three to five weeks in January and February between Semesters 3 and 4 and between Semesters 5 and 6 (during vacation). In May/June, at the end of Semester 6, there is an additional four-week placement for Physical Education students and for those taking second teaching subjects.

Semesters 7 – 8

In Semester 7, you have a school placement of 10 or 12 weeks' duration, as well as supplementary taught classes. In the final semester, secondary students return to study their main teaching subject.

Year 1

• EDU9E1 - Education: Purposes, Principles, Practice
• EDU9E2 - Education: Learning and Teaching

Year 2

• EDU9E3 - Pedagogy I: The Nature of Learning and Teaching
• EDU9A0 - School Experience (placement)
• EDU9E4 - Pedagogy II: Differentiation, Assessment and Progression

Year 3

• EDU9E5 - Pedagogy Across the Curriculum
• EDU9AP - School Experience (placement)
• EDU9E6 - Differences and Identities
• EDU9HS - Second Teaching Subject Qualification (only applicable to certain students)

Year 4

• EDU9P/T7- Final Teaching Practice/Evaluation

Students who wish to undertake their dissertation in Education will also take:

• EDU9RP - Developing a Research Proposal - Year 3
• EDU9H8 - Education Dissertation - Year 4

The course is taught through seminars, lectures and workshops. Assessment is both formative and continuous. School experience placements are supported by school-based teachers and through tutor engagement.

There will be a module reader in electronic format available via ‘Succeed’ (the University’s Virtual Learning Environment) at the start of your first Education module.

Combined Degree Courses (Secondary)

Normally students following combined courses will study Education with two subjects. Students following Geography or History degree courses will normally qualify to teach Modern Studies as well. History, as a second teaching subject, is available to students whose main teaching subject is English or Religion. Modern Studies is only available as a second teaching subject for students following programmes in Geography or History. Please note: Physical Education is not available in combination with any other degree programme.

Geography

Students on the Geography course may have the opportunity to undertake a residential field trip.

Modern Languages

All students wishing to teach a modern language in schools must fulfil residence requirements in a country where that language is spoken. For most students, this means an additional year abroad between Semesters 4 and 5. French can be studied from Beginners' level for this purpose. Spanish can also be studied from Beginner's level as part of the French/Spanish combined degree.

The School of Education offers a concurrent degree path towards qualification as a teacher. This means that students study both pedagogy (the craft and practices of teaching) and their subject specialism(s) in tandem, one frequently informing and enriching the other. Stirling has offered such a route for over 40 years, and our confidence in this process is reflected in, and validated by, the recommendation of the Donaldson Report into Teacher Education in Scotland that the model used by us should be propagated and adopted by the other providers of teacher education in Scotland. Our size may be considered another strength, as we believe that we get the opportunity to establish close working and pastoral relationships with the students enrolled on our courses over the four years they are with us.

You have the opportunity to study abroad through Stirling's well-established connections with several international universities.

Education was rated 1st in Scotland and 13th in the UK for the quality of its research in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise in 2008.

The School of Education at the University of Stirling is currently rated number one in Scotland for Education by a number of University Guides and for the quality of its research, and has been highly regarded throughout its 44-year history. The School prides itself on its prominent position within Scottish Education, and works hard to maintain its cutting edge approach to developing new knowledge within the field, as well as feeding this new knowledge into our teaching programmes to enrich our core provision.

We work in close partnership with the Local Authorities, schools, Education Scotland and GTCS to ensure that students are supported throughout their studies to become effective professional educators.

Academic strengths

The School of Education has, at its head, a group of world-leading academics, with strong and established research records, and a wealth of world-class publications ranging from Adult Education to Inclusion. These academics in turn lead successful research groups within the School of Education which are all engaged in knowledge acquisition and exchange.  Our teaching is thus informed by the research undertaken by its staff, and this permeates the Initial Teacher Education courses offered by the School.

Alumni viewpoint

The ITE course is currently led by Gary Wilson. Gary has a long association with University of Stirling and the School of Education, having graduated twice from Stirling, first in 1990, then again in 1993. He leads a group of academics engaged in research and scholarship, who are all experienced classroom practitioners, having worked in a wide range of educational contexts, both here in Scotland and elsewhere in the British Isles and abroad. The course’s core tutor complement is supplemented by a number of Teacher Fellows - practising teachers who work in a range of local secondary schools and are released from their schools one day per week in order that they may work closely with our students.

The great majority of our graduates enter the Scottish Government’s Probationary Teacher Scheme, which entitles them to guaranteed employment for one year as a newly qualified teacher in a Scottish Local Authority school. Of course, your degree and teaching qualification will qualify you to enter into a wide variety of other professional roles, such as corporate training and development, museum and leisure education, as well as other career routes less closely allied to teaching.