About this course
- Entry year: 2012/13
- Course code: N1X1
- Applications: GTTR
- Level: Postgraduate
- Department: Education
- Campus: Frenchay
- Duration: One year full-time
- Delivery: Full-time
- Study Abroad: No
- Programme leader: Jayne Woodbury
Introduction
The Secondary PGCE is a one academic year (36 week) course that trains graduates to be secondary school teachers of Business Education.
The PGCE programme has been designed to train teachers for the full secondary age phase (11-18). Business Education trainees are assessed against the standards in Key Stage 4 and post-16.
On the PGCE Business Education course at UWE we aim to work with you in the same way that we expect you to work with our pupils in schools, that is, to create a learning environment that feels safe, where everyone can enjoy and feel motivated by their learning experiences. You will all develop your own individual style as teachers and to help you in your development you will be given the opportunity to experience a variety of teaching and learning styles throughout your subject studies sessions.
We'll ask ourselves 'What is Business Education?' and with everyone fighting to survive in the 'Survival Game' role play it becomes very easy to see just what the economy and business is all about and how we can explain this in school.
Early in the course the whole group has the opportunity to visit a local Business and Enterprise College, to meet the pupils and find out their views of Business Studies as a subject. This is always an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
You will get to know your fellow trainees in workshop and group work sessions, developing ideas for resourcing and planning lessons, and sharing your ideas with the whole group. These sessions are a real opportunity to develop your creative side and explore the potential for developing the interest of pupils in school.
The course is active and practical allowing trainees to develop professional competence through work undertaken in schools and in the University. Trainees work with young people, develop their expertise in their specialist subject area, share and discuss educational issues and study relevant educational research. The course is just the beginning of what we hope will be a process of continual professional development throughout a challenging and rewarding career.
Our Secondary PGCE programme has recently been graded Outstanding by Ofsted (2011).
PGCE in Business Education is one of the Department of Education's most long established and successful courses. Many hundreds of our students have entered the teaching profession through this route and recruitment into teaching jobs remains buoyant. Applicants are required to have a degree in Business or related field. In addition, experience in business is highly valued, in recognition of the increasing focus on work-related learning and enterprise in schools and in the range of business subjects offered at examination level. Given the breadth of the subject, students are supported in the further development of their subject knowledge throughout the course. Our intake is currently 30 students per year and an early application is advised as the level of interest is generally high.
Find out more about what PGCE Secondary Education at UWE has to offer in terms of teaching quality, staff expertise and your student experience.
Structure
Content
The course is part of the Department of Education's programme for Initial Teacher Training. Units studied are:
- Enabling Learning
- Meeting Curriculum Challenges
- Becoming a Teacher
These units are studied in both the school and the University-based parts of the course, the work on each site being complementary.
The Business Education course has been designed to enable you to develop an understanding of what it is like to be a pupil in a Business Studies classroom and to consider how pupils learn most effectively. You experience a range of teaching and learning styles first hand, including role play, interactive ICT opportunities, and small group work and are encouraged to think creatively and enjoy the challenge of making business relevant and interesting to the pupils in your classroom. A strong emphasis is placed upon the practicalities of classroom performance, including lesson planning, the production of high quality teaching resources, assessment for learning and the skills for monitoring personal effectiveness. Finally, you are given a strong sense of the place of Business Education in the curriculum, both historically and in the 'way forward' as we respond to new developments in the 14-19 curriculum and new initiatives for the 21st century.
Hear what our students think about their time at UWE.
Teaching and learning
Personal support
We recognise that embarking on a new course of study can sometimes be quite a challenging undertaking. Students have three main sources of support and information from the University during the course: firstly there is the Group Tutor in their subject area, secondly each student is allocated a Personal Tutor and thirdly any student can get support on a range of issues from the Department Student Adviser.
Find out more about our academic staff, their teaching expertise and research interests.
Assessment
In order to pass the course, trainees are required to pass each unit. They are assessed on a number of written assignments and also on classroom practice against the standards specified by the Secretary of State for the award of QTS. Before the end of the course it is recommended that trainees take the computer-based QTS skills tests in Numeracy, Literacy and ICT which are set by the Training and Development Agency (TDA).
Special Features
Placements
24 weeks are spent on placement: a total of eight weeks in one placement during the autumn term and 16 weeks in a second placement during the spring and summer.
As well as teaching, the programme includes contact time with a Senior Professional Tutor and a Subject Mentor, directed study time and personal study time.
Although most of the placements are in schools, there are some openings in Further Education which are available to students who wish to pursue employment possibilities in this area.
All mentors receive regular training and there is a genuinely two-way interchange of information and ideas between the staff at UWE and colleagues in schools and colleges. There is always the opportunity to disseminate good practice more widely in order to keep all concerned at the forefront of the development of the subject area.
Fieldwork
Business Studies is a great subject for getting out of the classroom and you'll have a chance to do just that as we explore work-related learning opportunities. Visits to date have included Rolls Royce, @Bristol and Bristol International Airport.
Study facilities
Business Education in the Department of Education is in one of the country's best maintained centres. All taught sessions are in fully equipped Information Technology rooms, giving students constant access to the full range of electronic business resources. In addition there is a Business Education base room where a range of text books and other resources are available for student use. These resources are in addition to those available in the Education Resource Base in the main Bolland Library.
Careers/further study
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programmes now include 40 credits of assessment at Master's Level (Level M). For candidates who opt not to attempt the requisite credit at Level M, a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education will be available as an alternative award.
Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)
For general information about teaching as a career, including teachers' salaries and the professional standards set out by the TDA in Qualifying to Teach, contact the TDA by calling the teacher information line on +44 (0)845 6000 991 or visit the website www.tda.gov.uk.
For information about the national curriculum and subjects taught in secondary schools, visit the National Curriculum online www.nc.uk.net.
Hear from past UWE students about how studying here has enhanced their career prospects and opened up new opportunities.
Entry
Entry requirements
Applicants normally have:
- A real and clear enjoyment of business education
- A good degree (normally 2:1 minimum, with at least 50 per cent in a related subject, such as economics or finance and accounting
- GCSE grade C or above in mathematics and English language. (University tests in mathematics and English language may be available for some applicants)
- To have spent a minimum of 1-2 weeks in a classroom, observing business education being taught in a comprehensive school within the previous two years.
- A willingness to work very hard, show good organisational skills and be reflective
- An ability to work individually or as part of a team and constantly push yourself
- Evidence of your commitment to working with young people
Additional requirements
Applicants must pass an initial selection process and short-listed candidates will be interviewed at the Department of Education. Entry is subject to satisfactory interview to assess professional suitability and subject to successful medical and Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance. If you would like information regarding issues that could disqualify you from teaching training, please contact us on +44 (0)117 32 83333.
TDA Standards and requirements
Following the review of Standards and Requirements for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) by the Secretary of State in 2007, the Department of Education has designed its full-time courses to be compliant with the latest standards and requirements. For information on the latest standards please visit the TDA website.
General Teaching Council Registration
Please also note that since 1 September 2008 anyone commencing a course of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in England leading to the award of Qualified Teacher Status is required to be provisionally registered with the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE). You will need to complete a suitability declaration to enable the Council to identify any reason which may prevent registration. At the point of the offer of a place on an ITT course at UWE, you will be sent a GTCE Suitability Declaration form which will need to be completed and returned to the University. Providing that this declaration meets the requirements you will be recommended to be registered with the GTCE. The Government has announced a proposal to abolish the GTCE but until Parliamentary legislation is enacted registration is still required.
For further information on Provisional Registration and the suitability assessment please visit the GTCE website.
Fees
For details about fees and the UWE Bursary, please see our fees and funding web pages.
How to apply
Please apply online at: www.gttr.ac.uk.
For further information
Page last updated 14 December 2011