Interested in becoming a primary teacher

bazery

Hey there all, just enquiring into what the process is and if i can do a PGDE after a degree in computer science, the end goal being so that i could be a primary teacher, can you study this at night time outside of working hours or must you be full time in college

BoozyBabe

As far as I'm aware, the PGDE is for secondary teaching.
Do you mean PGCE for Primary?
It's called the PGCE when you study in the UK. Is this your intention, or are you hoping to do one of the post grad courses offered here in Ireland?

Hibernia college (Google it) is the only college in Ireland where you can study to be a teacher part time. It's part online learning, part onsites, which take place on a Sat, & then you need 14 weeks off for TP, 3 weeks for Gaeltacht, & then exams.
All other post grads are full time.
You need an honours degree to be eligible for a place.
You also need Honours Irish in your LC.

If you want to clarify a bit further, I might be able to answer more for you.

mossyj

Hi Boozybabe - ive been looking into the hibernian course also and it seems to be quite difficult to get into due to the high demand according to some of the threads i've come across. Right now i have zero teaching experience other than some IT training i provided in previous jobs! . I will be actively trying to get some experience in a Primary School classrom environment over the coming weeks/months but my current job is 9-5 and makes this difficult. Did you have similar problems and also did you find it difficult to get into the Hibernian Course?

BoozyBabe

1st off Mossy, it's HIBERNIA, not Hibernian. The latter provieds insurance only!!!

Yes, it's tricky to get into & there's HUGE competition for it.
Also, you get interviewed partly in Irish, so you've to have a good standard of Irish.

They say experience is not essential, & there have been plenty that have gotten places without experience, but as competition gets fiercer, I'd imagine experience will be an advantage to have.

I'm not doing Hibernia yet. Just waiting to be called for interview. Should be interviewed in next 2-3 weeks.

I also work in IT, 8.30-5, financial commitments, so can't go subbing. Going to try & get a few days observation & then hope my experience outside of school counts for something.

Hopefully, in a few weeks I'll be able to answer the last bit, saying "no, it wasn't difficult to get into at all!!!" :cool:

mossyj

HiberniA it is then:D - ive been reading up about the course on http://www.hiberniacollege.net/SchoolofEducation/HDAPE/tabid/63/Default.aspx and it is definitely ticking the right boxes for my situation. Believe it or not but my siter is also going for a Primary Teaching Hdip after finishing accounting in UCC only last year! As far as i can gather it seems to be even more difficult to get into the tradition Hdip courses in Froebel, St Patricks, Marino etc etc etc? I am going to apply to them also but i dont hold out much hope! If you wouldnt mind, it would be great to know how the interview went when the time comes!

best of luck:)

mossyj

BTW - i currently work as a Sys Admin in Dublin & have done for the past 5 yrs + shudda got out of it ages ago!From what ive read it seems IT is becoming a bigger part of Primary Education, maybe our backgrounds will count for something

bazery

Sorry for the confusion, basically i'm working in an IT role and want to become a primary teacher, i have experience as a special needs assistant, i have an honours degree and a C in honours irish for the LC, basically i would like to become a primary school teacher, Is hibernia the only route to take in ireland

mossyj

Im sure someone will correct me if i am wrong here but if you have an honours degree and an honour in LC higher level Irish then you are eligible to apply to any of the Irish Colleges too!

BoozyBabe

bazery wrote: »

Is hibernia the only route to take in ireland

It's the only route you can take if you can only afford to study it part time.
All other post grads in Irieland are full time.
Bare in mind, there are no grants for Hibernia, as it's a private college & the fees in total will come to almost €10k

maryo'dee

my sister just started in limerick studying to be a primary teacher. it takes 3 years.
she had to do an interview in irish to prove it was of good standard. about half of the people get accepted only. also if you are a man it is easier i have heard they need men.

BoozyBabe

Hi Mary,
That's the B'Ed you're talking about.

If you already have an Honours degree, you can do a conversion course, called the Post Grad in Primary Education, which only takes 18 months to become a teacher.
In the Rep Ireland, you can study this post grad in 3 colleges in Dub:- St. Pats, Froebel, & Marino, in Limerick: Mary I. All of these are full time post grads, which means you can't work while doing them, but as they're full time, you can get a grant to do them.
These colleges also do the B'Ed, which your sis is doing, & these take 3 years full time, but, if you've already got a state funded degree, you are not entitled to a grant (or fees paid, I believe) to do another degree.

As the Op already has a degree & can't afford to go back to college full time, his only option in the Rep. is Hibernia.