The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme provides a professional secondary teaching qualification to students who have two teaching subjects in their BA or BSc degree. Most of the courses are available by DFL. The programme can be completed in one year provided the students have already done ED152 and ED153 in their first degree.
Admission Requirements
Persons are eligible to be admitted to study for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education if they:
- hold a degree of the University of the South Pacific or its equivalent (other than a BEd or BA/GCEd or BSc/GCEd or their equivalents) in Agriculture or with specialisation in two teaching subjects: Accounting, Biology, Chemistry, Computing Science, Economics, Food and Textiles, Geography, History, Literature and Language, Mathematics, Pacific Vernacular Languages, Physics and Technology, and
- normally have a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.5 in the 200 and 300 level courses in each of their teaching subjects, and
- pass a student-teacher interview, and
- provide a character reference from a USP lecturer or the head or a senior teacher of their last school.
Note: A student with a GPA marginally below 2.5 but who has a strong character reference and has performed well at the interview may be admitted by the Dean of Arts and Law to the programme.
Programme Requirements
This programme consists of nine courses plus a practicum (ED300) of 17 weeks.
Courses
- ED152 (Issues In Adolescence) - This course is designed to encourage a better understanding of human development, by adopting a perspective that covers the period of adolescence.
- ED153 (School & Society) - The principal aim of this course is to establish a foundation for subsequent education courses by introducing students to a wider understanding of education and schooling and the issues relating to it in the societies in which we live.
- either of;
- ED250 (Curriculum Studies I) - Intending agriculture teachers should take AG250 instead. This course overtly promotes reflective, constructivist pedagogies.
- Or for an Agriculture graduate AG250 - More information to be provided once available.
- ED252 (Educational Psychology and the Teaching - Learning Process) - This course aims to provide a framework within which teachers, or those intending to be teachers, can identify the contribution of educational psychology to an understanding of how children learn...
- ED253 (Theories and Ideas in Education) - This course examines Pacific indigenous/vernacular notions of teaching and learning as well as a selection of Western educational theories and ideas that have informed formal education Pacific Island Countries from the 1850`s to the present time...
- ED300 (Practicum) - This course is part of the BEd (Primary) In-service programme, the BEd (Secondary) for students entering after 1999, the PGCE for students entering after 1999, and the ACTA. Refer to Practicum Handbook for further details.
- ED354 (Assessing and Measuring Student Performance) - This course is designed to build on ED154 Principles of assessing Student Performance. Emphasis is placed on developing professional teachers for academic careers and evealuation personnel for other professions.
- either of;
- ED350 (Curriculum Studies II) - Intending agriculture teachers should take AG350 instead of ED350. This course builds on the themes covered in ED250, and aims to enhance students` professional skills...
- Or for an Agriculture graduate AG350 (Teaching Agricultural Science) - Equivalent to ED350. This course aims to provide student teachers with knowledge and skills for initiating, operating and supervising practical experience programmes for secondary school Agriculture.
- ED359 (Educational Research) - This course is designed for senior undergraduate students or prospective postgraduate students with a strong interest in educational research.
Note: Please click on the course codes to access detailed information about the course from the USP database.
