PGDE (PRIMARY) at University of West of Scotland

PGDE (PRIMARY) OVERVIEW

The Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) Primary course provides the formal teaching qualification for provisional registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), giving you the skills, knowledge and experience to build a career as a primary school teacher.

You cover a wide range of subjects that feature in the primary school curriculum including English/Literacy, Health and Wellbeing, and Mathematics/Numeracy.

The PGDE enables you to develop core skills in planning, teaching, assessment and evaluation strategies, classroom and behaviour management, and contemporary issues in Scottish education. You can also study one module at Masters' level which can help you in later years work towards a further qualification.

Successful completion of all elements of the course means that you receive the formal teaching qualification necessary for provisional registration with the GTCS, a requirement for entry into the guaranteed one-year Teacher Induction Scheme in Scotland.

Placement Opportunities

Eighteen weeks of school experience placements occur in at least two primary schools/education and childcare settings within local authorities in Scotland. This placements occur in in each school term, with a block of at least four weeks duration taking place towards the end of the PGDE, in early childhood and primary school.

Jobs

Most UWS graduates remain in mainstream teaching in the UK or abroad. Others work in specialist educational areas including working with children with additional learning support needs, adult training, museums, writing and publishing, health education, curriculum development, and social services.

COURSE DETAILS

You will cover a wide range of subjects that feature in the primary school curriculum.

The PGDE Primary is an intense course, comprising 18 weeks of on-campus teaching and 18 weeks of placement in primary schools. The main pedagogy is interactive lectures and workshops. Collaborative tasks and group learning are integral to the programme. One of the core modules - School and Professional Studies – is taught through a combination of face-to-face classes and online tutorials.

The course comprises three core modules:

• The Primary Curriculum (core, 40 credits)
• School Experience (core, 40 credits)
• School and Professional Studies (core, 40 credits)

All modules are studies at SCQF Level 10. Students have the opportunity to be assessed at Level 11 in School and Professional Studies.

CAREER PROSPECTS

You receive the formal teaching qualification necessary for provisional registration with the GTCS, a requirement for entry into the guaranteed one-year Teacher Induction Scheme.

Most UWS graduates remain in mainstream teaching in the UK or abroad. Others work in specialist educational areas including working with children with additional learning support needs, adult training, museums, writing and publishing, health education, curriculum development, and social services.