Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Course

Secondary school teachers are specialists in one or more areas within a school curriculum, allowing them to focus on subjects and issues of personal interest. The Monash double degree gives students the ability to deepen their understanding of the areas they intend to teach in schools by offering a choice of more than 50 subject areas within the Bachelor of Arts. This approach enables students to also pursue professional development opportunities in business, industry, government or the community as well as teaching. Students put their learning into action through practical experiences, completing professional placements in secondary schools and other settings, including opportunities for overseas or remote practical experiences.

Upon successful completion of this course it is expected that students will:

• have developed rich and integrated theoretical perspectives on teaching and learning as well as the culture and contexts of schooling
• have linked these theoretical perspectives to different educational contexts and be able to use these linkages to inform and develop their practice
• have developed a high level of competence as knowledgeable, reflective, research oriented and articulate practitioners
• be self-sufficient and independent as beginning teachers in a secondary context generally and in the specific areas of humanities education that they select for study in their Bachelor of Arts.

For objectives of the Arts component of this double degree visit http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2011handbooks/courses/0002.html

The course includes a minimum of 80 days of placement, with some placement being undertaken in each year of the course. In first, second and third year, placements are tied to education units offered. In fourth year, the 50 days of placement are tied to the four professional experience units. These placements involve a program of field visits to different educational sites and include structured teaching experience.

Students must be available to undertake these on a full-time basis for several weeks at a time. For full-time students placement is typically conducted in two blocks of five weeks, one each semester. For part-time students it is typically conducted in four blocks of two to three weeks, one block in each of four semesters. These units are taken concurrently with enrolment in the core curriculum units and the curriculum specialism units. They provide supervised teaching practice in the teaching area of the student's curriculum units while on school placement.

Students who are employed in schools must complete at least 25 days of supervised school placement in a setting other than the school at which they are employed.

Graduates are eligible for registration and employment as secondary school teachers in the government, Catholic and independent school systems in Victoria. For interstate and overseas positions, applicants are advised to check with local authorities.

This course comprises studies in arts and studies in education incorporating compulsory and elective units, and teaching placements.

Arts component

Studies in arts (96 points) includes:

(a.) an arts major (48 points)

(b.) an arts minor in a different area of study (24 points)

(c.) a first-year arts sequence in a third area of study (12 points)

(d.) another 12 points of arts at first, second or third-year level

Refer to the Faculty of Arts areas of study in this Handbook at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/index-ug-byfaculty-arts.html for a list of the arts disciplines available.

Education component

Studies in education (108 points) comprising:

• a series of units relating to the theory and practice of education, teaching and curriculum
• professional placement units.

For full details on the education requirements refer to the 'Education - Secondary' 'area of study' at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2011handbooks/aos/ug-education---secondary.html.

Students need to be aware that their major and minor studies in arts must satisfy the requirements for the study of two curriculum specialism units in their fourth year and the requirements for employment laid down by the Victorian Institute of Teaching. Generally, to qualify for secondary curriculum specialism units, a candidate will require a minimum of two years of full-time academic study in that discipline. There are additional requirements for some disciplines. Students should refer to the VIT website at http://www.vit.vic.edu.au in consultation with their course adviser.

Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Education