Information for students

Education caters for a range of educational practitioners' professional development needs, from primary 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.

Marivic Wyndham

telephone +61 2 9514 9814

Computing facilities for UTS: Education students

Education has a digital media learning space in Building 10 (CB10). This facility incorporates leading-edge concepts in educational design and technology. The computer facility provides powerful Macintosh computers with a suite of common up-to-date software installed for document production, web authoring, video and image editing, internet and email access. They are compatible with a range of foreign language fonts. Printing and scanning facilities are also available for students. Education students have access to these facilities when classes are not in progress.

Presentations in Building 10 teaching spaces may be complemented by data projectors linked to electronic lecterns. These integrate an internet-connected computer, DVD player, VHS player, document imager and sound system for media rich learning experiences. A number of mini-studios with camera, lighting and playback facilities allow students to videotape and review presentations. Building 10 also contains a general access computing laboratory and a computer kiosk on the street level. These are available to enrolled students 14 hours a day.

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.

Education has seen increasing numbers of international students from Japan, China, South Korea and from countries in Africa and the Middle East. 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.

In the teacher education courses students have the opportunity to do professional experience in Thailand, Samoa and Korea. The Bachelor of Arts in International Studies is also available as a combined degree with UTS: Education undergraduate degrees and offers students the opportunity to live and study overseas in one of a number of countries of choice for two sessions.

Teacher education

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

Undergraduate teacher education is offered in a full-length degree, which may be taken as a four-year Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Education (C10350) or as a five-year combined Bachelor of Education Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (C10349). Both courses provide a fully recognised teaching qualification in primary, and secondary education. There is also a non-teaching qualification exit option, the Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies (C10209), for students who complete three years of study.

Postgraduate secondary teacher education is offered as a two-year degree in standard mode or as an 18-month degree in accelerated mode 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, PDHPE (available to C10300 pathway students until 2021 intake only), Mathematics/Science, Science/Mathematics and HSIE (Business Studies/Economics).

Other postgraduate courses are designed for qualified and experienced teachers who wish to extend their professional skills. These include master's courses in Applied Lingustics and TESOL and Education (coursework and research) .

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 Arts Bachelor of Education (C10350)
• Bachelor of Education Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (C10349), during which students prepare for teaching and acquire knowledge and understanding of another language and culture, with two sessions spent overseas
• Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (C04255)

The Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Education (C10350) and the Bachelor of Education Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (C10349) are interlinked and designed to prepare students for teaching in primary or secondary schools. The two courses share a common core of professional experience, key learning areas and contextual studies. This common structure enables students to change courses at the end of their first year, subject to places being available.

In addition, the Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Education (C10350) allows students in the Primary major to complete a primary specialisation and students in the Secondary major to study a choice of electives or a sub-major in TESOL or STEM. Meritorious students can instead choose to complete an honours program (C09082). In the Bachelor of Education Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (C10349), students undertake a country major choice instead of electives or honours.

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
• field experiences where students engage in a variety of professional interactions in schools and other educational settings.

These combined elements foster the development of professional knowledge, skills and attitudes with which teachers should begin their careers. Students may apply to undertake field experience in an existing international professional experience program in Thailand, Korea or Samoa, except for students in the Master of Teaching in Secondary Education.

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:

• ASCIA anaphylaxis training
• LANTITE
• UTS child protection module
• UTS inherent requirements.

Full details are provided in professional experience programs.

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

Key learning areas

The key learning areas in the teacher education courses are:

• mathematics
• science and technology
• human society and its environment (HSIE)
• personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE)
• creative arts
• English.

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

• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• PDHPE (available to C10300 pathway students until 2021 intake only)
• Science/Mathematics
• HSIE (business studies/economics).

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