BEd(Secondary)/BA or BA + MTeach? (1 Viewer)

[knockii]

Ok, basically I've got my heart set on becoming a teacher, the only problem is that I'm not sure which pathway would be preferable.

Initially I was keen on the combined degree BEd(Secondary:Humanities and Social Sciences)/BA, however now I'm leaning more towards a BA then a graduate MTeach.

The main concern which I have is that from what I've heard, most students want as little to do with the education subjects as possible, yet the combined degree makes you do quite a few education subjects with not so many arts subjects.

My preferred teaching subjects would be History/English. Whilst I'd be able to attain qualifications for both in the combined degree, I'd also like to be qualified to teach other subjects as well, namely Aboriginal Studies and Society & Culture. The issue being that I'm not sure the combined degree offers enough arts components to become qualified in all 4 subjects.

This has made the BA + MTeach pathway seem more appealing to me. Assuming I do the BA, how would majors work? As far as I know, to major in a subject you must complete 36 senior credit points, yet to have your first teaching subject accredited you only need to complete 24 senior credit points.

Is it compulsary to complete a major subject or could I just undertake 24 senior credit points in each of my 4 desired teaching subjects?

If someone could clear up the question about the BA major or any misconceptions I may have that'd be awesome. Also any opinions from anyone on the combined degree or the MTeach would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for such a longwinded post, I just want to ensure that I make the right decision.

 

[InBetweenDreams]

Ok, basically I've got my heart set on becoming a teacher, the only problem is that I'm not sure which pathway would be preferable.

Initially I was keen on the combined degree BEd(Secondary:Humanities and Social Sciences)/BA, however now I'm leaning more towards a BA then a graduate MTeach.

The main concern which I have is that from what I've heard, most students want as little to do with the education subjects as possible, yet the combined degree makes you do quite a few education subjects with not so many arts subjects.

My preferred teaching subjects would be History/English. Whilst I'd be able to attain qualifications for both in the combined degree, I'd also like to be qualified to teach other subjects as well, namely Aboriginal Studies and Society & Culture. The issue being that I'm not sure the combined degree offers enough arts components to become qualified in all 4 subjects.

This has made the BA + MTeach pathway seem more appealing to me. Assuming I do the BA, how would majors work? As far as I know, to major in a subject you must complete 36 senior credit points, yet to have your first teaching subject accredited you only need to complete 24 senior credit points.

Is it compulsary to complete a major subject or could I just undertake 24 senior credit points in each of my 4 desired teaching subjects?

If someone could clear up the question about the BA major or any misconceptions I may have that'd be awesome. Also any opinions from anyone on the combined degree or the MTeach would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for such a longwinded post, I just want to ensure that I make the right decision.

Hey I'm doing the Bed/Barts degree and my sister is doing Mteach so i can help a little, hopefully i dont get anything wrong

The Bed/Barts is a good degree, sure some of the education subjects can be a bit dull in some area's, but they can also be quite intresting esp. if you have a good tutorial leader. However i have found that they do not give a lot of options to spread out and do diferent kinds of units from the arts fac, so if you have quite wide range of intrest (which it sounds like you do) it would prob be a better idea to do the B arts / M teach.

However word of warning, that there is no guarentee you will get into the post grad program (it is most likely that you will if you have a good gpa and have done relevant subjects) but you never know.

Also im 99% sure that you can only be tranied in 2 subject areas, sorry, although when you get out into schools (if you do the b arts/M teach and do relevant subjects (which you will be able to do as the degrees wont be tied together)) you will prob be able to teach all four areas as schools can basically stick you teaching random subjects from what ive heard, from friends who are teaching.
So basically you could do a double major in history/english and fill in the other units with what ever arts subjects you like, thus having knowledge in the other areas you want to teach in.

So you might want to look into the Barts/Mteach as it will prob suit your needs more, but it really just depends i would recommend speaking to some lectures/people from the ed fac to get a better idea of what the course involve etc.

Sorry if what i've said is in anyway confusing im majorly sleepy atm

 

[knockii]

The Bed/Barts is a good degree, sure some of the education subjects can be a bit dull in some area's, but they can also be quite intresting esp. if you have a good tutorial leader. However i have found that they do not give a lot of options to spread out and do diferent kinds of units from the arts fac, so if you have quite wide range of intrest (which it sounds like you do) it would prob be a better idea to do the B arts / M teach.

However word of warning, that there is no guarentee you will get into the post grad program (it is most likely that you will if you have a good gpa and have done relevant subjects) but you never know.

Also im 99% sure that you can only be tranied in 2 subject areas, sorry, although when you get out into schools (if you do the b arts/M teach and do relevant subjects (which you will be able to do as the degrees wont be tied together)) you will prob be able to teach all four areas as schools can basically stick you teaching random subjects from what ive heard, from friends who are teaching.
So basically you could do a double major in history/english and fill in the other units with what ever arts subjects you like, thus having knowledge in the other areas you want to teach in.

Thanks for the advice

I also think that the combined degree would be a good course, I especially like how you learn your teaching subjects whilst learning the education units, thus putting them into a teaching context and whatnot. However as you said, the lack of freedom with the arts faculty was really the deciding factor for me.

I've heard that in order to be accepted into the MTeach I'd need to have done relevant subjects, but does your GPA also come into account? If so, could someone tell me roughly what GPA is required to get into the graduate degree?

Hmm, if they can have you teach a random subject that's cool I guess, though could someone confirm whether we're only allowed to be qualified to teach 2 subject areas? Part of the reason why I want to take the BA + MTeach pathway was to be able to become qualified in more subject areas, which I thought would improve job prospects.

Also, if you are allowed to become qualified in more than 2 subject areas, does anyone know whether units from one subject can be overlapped to lead to accreditation in another subject? With Aboriginal Studies there are some units which are also counted in Modern History, and Society & Culture can draw from units such as Archaeology, Aboriginal Studies and History.

 

[laila09]

I have had exactly the same problem!

I wanted to be qualified in social science (legal studies, society and culture etc) as well as english and history!

I have made quite alot of enquiries about this and this is what I now know. So I hope this helps you out too.

No, their is no 4 year degree that will allow you to be qualified in any more then 2 subjects.

The best thing to do is to undertake the bachelor of arts/ bachelor of education or diploma of education and major and minor in 2 social sciences For example society and culture and history.
If you do this you will then be qualified to teach HSIE. Which includes all the social sciences of modern and ancient history, society and culture, geography, buisness, ecnomics, Aboriginal studies etc etc.

However if you only do the english/history degree you can only teach these 2 subjects. You will not be social science qualified and can not teach it.
There is no course allowing english, history and all the social sciences.

So you could complete this degree then do a master of english literature at the end of your degree for a year which will qualify you to teach english as well.

I know it sucks! I wanted to do the same, but so I have been told I cant.

 

[knockii]

Yeah, that does suck...

Thanks for the information though

 

[lyounamu]

Ohhh I am sorry if I am hijacking this thread little bit but how long is the minimum duration to get your education degree to become a qualified teacher?

 

[laila09]

4 Years. You will have atleast have to have done the arts degree which is three years and 1 year of diploma or bachelor of education.

 

[knockii]

Most universities are trying to phase out their 1 year DipEd though, so you'd need to undertake either a BTeach which is 18 months or a MTeach which is 2 years.

That said though, you could still become qualified to teach in 4 years if you do a combined degree at any other university than Sydney, whose combined degree has a duration of 5 years.

Also, I've looked into the Masters of English Literature, and a requirement of it is to have a BA with a major in English

Think I might just do a double History/English major in a BA then a MTeach

 

[laila09]

Oh okay thanks.
Macquarie has a dip ed in case you were wondering.

 

[lyounamu]

I would like to become a teacher when I get bored of being in the business world.

But I don't want to spend 3-4 years trying to become a teacher! That's just too much! Seriously, what kind of education do you need to become a teacher? You only need to know about subject to teach the kids.

 

[knockii]

From what I've heard though, in a few years DipEds will be non-existent, which to me is a shame

 

[knockii]

I would like to become a teacher when I get bored of being in the business world.

But I don't want to spend 3-4 years trying to become a teacher! That's just too much! Seriously, what kind of education do you need to become a teacher? You only need to know about subject to teach the kids.

That's true, and if you ask me, having real world experience in the subject you're teaching is even more of an asset.

Depending on your degree, you might not have to spend 3-4 years, you could just do a BTeach. There would probably be strict guidelines though regarding your eligibility to be accredited for a certain subject area.

 

[Horsegal98]

You only need to know about subject to teach the kids.

That's complete rubbish, teaching is a craft. Anyone can know their subject well, not everyone can teach well.