Most efficient/cost effective way of becoming a teacher?

c0nor

Hi, I'm contemplating changing careers and becoming a secondary school teacher. I have a BA in Maths and Economics, so these would be the subjects I would be teaching. Within the ROI, I would need to complete a 2 year Masters in Education, but are there any shorter/cost effective routes except obtaining the Masters in ROI e.g Northern Ireland/UK?

Sir123

c0nor wrote: »

Hi, I'm contemplating changing careers and becoming a secondary school teacher. I have a BA in Maths and Economics, so these would be the subjects I would be teaching. Within the ROI, I would need to complete a 2 year Masters in Education, but are there any shorter/cost effective routes except obtaining the Masters in ROI e.g Northern Ireland/UK?

Unfortunately the 2 year PME, the rebranded version of the 1 yr hdip, is the only way to gain a teaching qualification at postgraduate level in Ireland.

However, there may be something the UK offers. Have heard you can do one year of study followed by your second year working whilst still getting ects credits and a possible bursary also depending on uni. Not 100% sure. Hopefully another poster that has gone down the UK route can help you out.

Maybe try a thread search on here as well as I recall posters in the past getting UK qualifications recognised in Ireland. With that, you'd have to make sure any potential post grad you do in the UK is recognised by the teaching council here so just keep this is mind.

Postgrad10

I think it’s still do a pgce , then a year on induction teaching, and then do the history of Irish education exam in Maynooth. Then submit all that to teaching council to see what they think.

In the UK they give bursaries to maths and science teachers to do the course and they do have a good reputation in training of teachers.

Mayberry

Hi

After doing my PGCE in Wales. I have a few point to make. It may be more cost effective to do the qualification in the UK. As I'm from there originally I got a bursary, grant and student loan. So if money is an issue it makes most sense to go down this route. You will be committed for two years to England or Wales. I was in the last year to allow you to complete your first year of teaching in Ireland. However doing your education in the UK has several disadvantages. First off you are learning a different curriculum to the leaving cert and junior cycle and teaching to different exam specifications. While this is minor you have to become familiar with everything in Ireland once you return here. Also you build lots of contacts and relationships with schools on teaching practice in the UK but again on your return to Ireland you have to build up all that again. It's very intense course in the UK, ver practical and after a month you are straight into teaching practice which is a huge positive. You are evaluated constantly which is also a great help in order to improve your teaching but it can become a bit wearing sometimes receiving feedback all the time after every single lesson.You are never left alone in the classroom without the regular teacher which is also nice but I found it daunting then when I came back here and was in my own. Also in your 2nd year in the UK you will be a paid teacher but will constantly be evaluated and assessed throughout the year with year heads and the principal coming in to observe lessons. The UK is thought to be by lot of people much harder in terms of paperwork to be completed each day but I hear this is changing in Ireland too. I spent lots of time planning lessons and making resources which you would have to do anywhere but found in my TP you were never allowed to whip out any form of text book but that may be subject specific (I was teaching science)

williaint

I trained in England as I couldn't afford the PME in Ireland and I didn't want to go 2 years with no income.

Yes, the system and curriculum are different and the PGCE was hell, but I learnt a great deal. Yes, it is tougher when you haven't been schooled in the English system but you soon catch on to their teaching standards, target grades, Ofsted ratings and so on! Just to point out there is no “UK system", the Scots who trained on my course were as clueless as me along with the German on the course! The Scottish system is very different from the English system. I don't know what system Wales has but it sounds very like the English one. When I was in England the new GSCEs were being introduced along with numerical grades, this was brand NEW for everyone so it made no difference that I had never done a GCSE myself. My students actually got excellent grades in the end, better than my Irish students!

My experience in England was looked upon very favourably when I returned to Ireland and I secured a permanent post straight away, despite having never taught in Ireland.

So my point is yes it is a lot of hard work over there, and yes you will have to commit to at least 2 years (the NQT is another year of being constantly observed and scrutinized, it seems much more relaxed in Ireland) but it a financially savvy decision and you are guaranteed a full time job once you finish your training in England, particularly important if your subjects are oversubscribed here such as English, Geography, History, Religion, etc.

If you have the money to do the PME, can afford to go 2 years with no income and then survive minimum hours (depending on your subject), then for sure train in Ireland! I unfortunately didn't have that option!

funkypumpkins

I trained in England too (Languages) and I am finishing up my NQT year this academic year (two terms left) after getting a full year contract. Echoing what others said, I would say England is more cost effective. For your subject, you could easily get a £26k bursary. Whether it's Ireland or England, it is a two year commitment at least. Maths is a "in demand" subject.

When I say "in demand", it is worth opening your eyes that England has a bad rep for teacher retention. (Behaviour, Obsession with targets as kids are predicted a target GCSE grade based on their primary school results and what a similar kid nationally got, data showing progress and interventions for where there is no progress, marking with literacy codes..).The recruitment drive is very strong due to this and targets set by ITT providers. Having said it, there is good and bad everywhere. I say this as hating my PGCE year after xmas, I did supply within a number of really bad, good and in between schools, this year to find the environment for me. I completed my add on credits to get my professional master's in Education. Then, I found a job through TES to finish my NQT year for this september. If anything, I have really developed as a teacher as the extra scrutiny to pass their standards does enforce it, even if it makes you feel like s*** at best.

I am predicting a paper work battle to get recognised in a years time, so get all you can and need from your UK university qualifications as well as your NQT cert to say you are fully registered if you go this route

Best of luck

williaint

Funkypumpkins I am also MFL so I went through the exact same process. The registering wasn't actually that bad...I started getting the uni to stamp the handbook for the PGCE etc a few months in advance and you can also start the vetting process now, especially if you have lived in several countries like me.

What held it up was that the TC wouldn't look at my application until I got my induction certificate. From finishing my NQT, it took a month for the induction certificate to come through. But I had everything else ready to fire off, I just added that and I was away.

The fact you have added on the Masters will help. I did the same. In that way, they can't find a shortfall in Education.

If you need any help at all just PM me, now or closer to the date. Best of luck with it!