Prospective Students: Mary I 2012/2013

Hi there M&S, I'm glad that you've asked that question. I presume that you are talking about the academic/arts subjects? They won't be running at all for B.Ed students next year. You'll be the first year of the new B.Ed programme, which will comprise almost entirely of education modules. You'll no longer do 3 arts subjects in first year, followed by one in subsequent years. You will however have the option of choosing a few elective modules in arts subjects in later years. Essentially you won't have to choose any subject in first year.

The reason I'm glad you've asked the question is that college has made very little information available to incoming first years about the structure of the new course. The current prospectus is very misleading; I know that there is a warning in it that the course content will change, but there's no resemblance at all between it and what the course will be like.

If anybody reading this is considering doing the B.Ed in Ed. and Psychology course, the same stands. What it currently says in the prospectus and website is completely wrong, and should have been updated a long time ago.

Yes, four years from September. That's one change, but the structure and content of the course is changing as well. I think there are also changes to Gaeltacht and Teaching Practice placements too. There will be far more of both.

M&S* wrote: »

So does the four years mean that I could teach abroad?

It should yes, I know there are certain countries that look for a four year teaching degree (but I think there are ways around that).

I'd be slow to give you a definite answer on that one. I'd say that you probably could, but because the courses are changing that might be less certain.

siobhanod93 wrote: »

Hey, when I tell people I'm going for Mary I, they ask me am I going for an interview to get in...

I know ages they did, but is this still the case? :eek:

Did you not do the Irish interview and the singing test over the Xmas holidays? They couldn't possibly admit female students who can't properly carry the air of a tune.



You only do an interview for entry as a mature student or as a postgrad. Calm down!

D4RK ONION wrote: »

Ah you could have played with her for a bit longer. You're no fun Dambarude

I could have, I know, but I thought it might be a bit cruel

I'll send you a tip off the next time a golden opportunity like that comes up:pac:

Hello EmmaOS! A B.Ed Psych student speaking here.

EmmaOs wrote: »

First of all, is the course really different from the normal B.Ed? In terms of lecture hours and assignments etc? Basically, because your doing two degrees, is it double the workload?

It's very hard to say at the moment, because any information I give you is based on experience of the current B.Ed Psych degree. The B.Ed Psych degree as it stands probably is more work. But I wouldn't say that it's double the work. It depends on what time of the degree or semester you ask the question to be honest. The revised degree most certainly will involve more work than the revised B.Ed, and there's no doubt about that. You will also likely miss out on some education modules that B.Eds will do. The psychology components will be the same as the current B.Ed Psych though. I'd could give you loads more speculative info on the revised course, but I'd rather not.

EmmaOs wrote: »

At the end of the day is the course worth it?

Once again, I can only go on my experience, and I'm glad I did the B.Ed Psych. Psychology gives you a great insight into areas you wouldn't cover if doing the B.Ed. It gives you great critical thinking skills that will stand to you if you choose to do postgrad work, even if not in the field of psychology. Whether it will help you get a job or not, I don't know (fingers crossed:p).

EmmaOs wrote: »

I've also heard that to get into a postgrad in educational psych you need to get the equivalant of an A1 or A2 in your psychology degree and that these postgrads are practically impossible to get into ... is this true?

You would need a First honours or a high 2.1 in your degree usually. I think that equates to a B1 standard plus. The course requires experience as well, like working in a special needs setting, or having other postgrad qualifications. They're hard to get into, but not impossible. Nothing's impossible!

Chea wrote: »

Yay no response and no help lol. Seriously, I don't know what I might have said to not warrant a response but it's ****ing annoying when I wasted ten minutes of my time..

Believe it or not, people who post here aren't paid to answer your responses. So you can ask nicely the next time please! I would have replied, but I've been very busy the last two weeks, and forgot to. But here goes.

Chea wrote: »

The reason I'm here is because the career guidance at my school is awful and the MIC website is hard to look through being honest. Luckily I'm only coming to the end of 5th year so I've plenty of time to think about what course I want to do. I'm nearly sure that teaching is a job that I'd enjoy but I'm not entirely certain about the courses available shown on the website. In fact I've pretty much no clue where to find info on secondary school teaching

To do secondary school teaching you need to do an undergraduate degree in the field you want to teach, followed by a Professional Diploma in Education (PDE, formerly known as the PGDE or H.Dip), or do a concurrent degree (e.g. the B.Sc in Science Education in UL). If you choose the first option you have to make sure that your degree is recognised by the Teaching Council in the subjects covered. As far as I know the main criterion is that the subject you wish to teach has been at least 30% of your overall degree credits. Any BA which has two subjects fulfills that requirement, the Liberal Arts degree in Mary I being one of them. There is a list of recognised degrees available from the Teaching Council here. The Teaching Council also has general FAQs on secondary teaching here.

Chea wrote: »

How can a person extend a secondary school degree (for let's just say French and Business) to have the ability to teach computers or possibly become a Career Guide (clearly I have alot to learn).?

That's a more complicated question, and it depends on the subject you want to teach. As far as I know there are certain postgrad courses that allow you to teach Religion, the MA in Mary I being one of them. For the likes of French or Business you'd likely have to do a new degree, or part thereof, to be qualified in them if you hadn't taken them as part of your original degree. If you search the Teaching & Lecturing forum you will find more info on adding subjects, and on adding Maths in particular.

There would be very few job prospects with Computers or ICT as a subject, because those hours are usually given to teachers to fill up timetables, whether they are qualified in it or not. They might only have an ECDL qualification (if even that). Careers Guidance has been chopped as an ex-quota teacher allocation in the most recent budget, so there will be very slim opportunities in that in the future. You have to do a special postgrad in Guidance to qualify, but I'm not sure where that is run. Google is your friend.

Chea wrote: »

Thanks very much for the response. Apologies for being angry in my last post but it wasn't intended for you tbh.

I'll forgive you this time:)

Chea wrote: »

Over the last two weeks I've actually started to think about pursuing "B.Ed. in Education and Psychology" which I believe is the course you are doing, correct? What is your overall opinion on the course? Do you reckon it will be beneficial when trying to get employed compared to a regular primary degree? Also, looking through the programme outline on the mic website it seems to me that there could be a large amount of Irish in the course. That wouldn't be ideal for me personally, but from experience is there alot of Irish in the course or is it pretty much the same as regular primary teaching?

The course is very good. It's great to have an additional qualification in psychology alongside a teaching qualification. I'm not sure if it's beneficial. I'm currently on the job hunt, so can't give any conclusive answer yet. But I wouldn't think it's a major advantage - sport, music and having loads of 'pull' are far more important.

There is no more Irish in the B.Ed Psych than the B.Ed. Please bear in mind that Primary teachers teach Irish for forty minutes a day, completely through the medium of Irish. So there's a very valid reason for the amount of Irish included.