Postgraduate courses and subjects 2000 - Teacher education and professional accreditation

Teacher education and professional accreditation

General information
Initial teacher education
Post-initial teacher education

General information

Professional education for teachers falls conveniently into two categories - initial (preservice) and post-initial education. In the initial category, the university provides for students aspiring to become early childhood, primary, secondary or adult and vocational education and training teachers, while, for persons who are already teachers, the faculty offers a variety of programs suited to their further professional development.

Initial teacher education

The Faculty of Education offers a variety of pathways into teaching at all levels. In addition to its established four-year courses leading to degrees in early childhood, primary and secondary, and adult and vocational education, the faculty now offers an expanding range of double degrees which are currently taught in conjunction with the faculties of Art and Design, Arts, Business and Economics, and Science. These double degrees qualify graduates to teach at the primary, secondary, or adult levels and present students with a variety of employment opportunities both within education and in areas such as journalism, psychology, commerce, music, science and sport and outdoor recreation. The double degrees also enable students to diversify their experience of tertiary education by undertaking a significant proportion of their studies in conjunction with students from other faculties.
These traditional initial teacher education pathways are supplemented by the innovative Bachelor of Adult Learning and Development course. This course is designed to provide training in education for people working in vocational education and training, industry and community settings.
A third pathway into teaching caters for graduates in other faculties who wish to enter primary or secondary teaching. Provided that their degrees include studies appropriate for teaching, these students can undertake a one-year full-time (or two-year part-time) course leading to the Graduate Diploma of Education. The Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) is available at both the Clayton and Gippsland campuses, while a Graduate Diploma of Education (Primary) is offered at the Peninsula campus. The Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) can be undertaken on-campus or by distance education.
Students wishing to enrol in a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) need to ensure that their initial degree contains at least two practice of teaching subjects.

Post-initial teacher education

The faculty also provides many opportunities for the further professional education of teachers who have completed their preservice education, whether at Monash or at another university or tertiary institution. The faculty offers a BEd (Honours) program (Clayton campus only), postgraduate certificates and diplomas, coursework masters and research-based degrees on each of its three campuses. In addition, the faculty has a long history of involvement with the professional education of teachers through the provision of short courses and other non-award courses, seminars and programs which are constantly revised to maintain relevance and currency for practising professionals. Increasingly the faculty is also shaping programs for professionals in related fields of expertise.