Education - Professional Master of Education

Course details

The PME in UCC is a two-year, full-time teacher education course designed to qualify graduates as post-primary secondary school teachers. It is fully recognised and accredited by the Teaching Council of Ireland for the purpose of registration as a post-primary teacher in Ireland and the EU. The PME combines two year-long school placements with university lectures and tutorials, which develop student teachers’ requisite professional knowledge, skills, understanding and competences.  Students are introduced to best practice in teaching, learning and educational research with special emphasis on meeting the perse needs of learners,  on the curriculum and on current issues in education.  Students are encouraged to integrate educational theory and practice through extensive reflection on their own professional classroom practice. They are supported in their development by experienced teachers in schools and tutored by specialist School of Education staff in nurturing their professional identity as teachers.  It will be necessary to limit the number of students admitted to the programme ; UCC's current quota is circa 120 students per year.  Within this quota, a subject quota of 10 applies to Business Studies and Business related degrees. 

Course Details

The PME is a 120 credit Level 9 course leading to a professional teaching qualification. It is organised in partnership with co-operating second-level schools, normally located within a 50 km (30 mile) radius of Cork city.   During PME school placements, students only teach the subject(s) for which they hold recognition by the Teaching Council of Ireland.

At the end of the course, you will have acquired the professional knowledge, understanding and skills that you need to teach your subject or subjects in a second-level school. You will have gained practical experience in two contrasting school settings, and developed your ability to respond flexibly to the perse and changing educational needs of students aged 12 to 18 years. You will have been challenged, encouraged and invited to question and deepen your beliefs and assumptions about the purpose of education, the nature of teaching and learning and the role of the teacher in the 21st century.

Students should note that the following post-primary teaching subjects are currently supported on the programme: Business Studies (including Accounting and Economics), CSPE, English, French, Gaeilge, Geography, German, History, Italian, Maths, Music, Religious Education, Science (including Biology, Chemistry and Physics), Spanish.

Important Note: A minimum number of students is required for subject-specific modules to run each year (cross-subject support may be provided if student numbers are low).

For Year 1 the responsibility for securing a placement school from the list of UCC School of Education PME cooperating schools rests entirely with the student. A school placement should not be secured until students have been offered a place on the PME programme. After selection by the school, students sign a placement form and are contracted until the end of the school year to carry out their teaching placement in the school in question.  Students must ensure that there is a minimum of twelve students in their placement class groups for supervision purposes.

 Each student in expected to have a contrasting placement experience in a different school context for Year 2. The placement school for Year 2 will again be selected by the student but the choice will be mediated by the School of Education Placement Co-ordinator and must be approved by the School of Education.

Students are required to spend a minimum of 100 hours of personal experience of directly teaching a class or classes in one or more approved subjects (6-8 classes per week) in Year 1 and 150 hours (10-11 classes per week) in Year 2. In both years placement must be undertaken on specific days and during specific times for the entire school year from late August until the following June. In both Years 1 and 2, students are required to prepare and maintain a School Placement Teaching File with evidence of long and short term planning, daily and weekly reflections, resources and other relevant data for all their class groups for the duration of their placements. During both placements students are also required to engage in non-teaching school activities for an equivalent number of hours. This experience will normally include lesson planning, preparation and reflection, opportunities for some classroom observation of experienced teachers, team teaching, participation in school meetings and other collaborative work with school staff and the extended school community. During these non-teaching activities, students in Year 1 will also be required to complete a variety of directed research tasks pertaining to their placement (e.g. pertaining to classroom management, teacher questioning, ICT, learning theories, school supports and school communication, which form part of a School Placement Research and Professional Experiences Portfolio. Year 2 students will engage in more school activities commensurate with their evolving school experience and increased time in school and will also conduct research related to their classroom or school context, which will form part of their required Professional Research Paper in Education.

Irish Language Requirement ; While the Irish requirement has been removed for the generality of second-level teachers who do not use Irish in their everyday work, teachers of Irish and teachers employed in Gaeltacht schools and in other schools where Irish is the medium of instruction will be required to be fully proficient in Irish. A special course in spoken Irish, run by An Gaeilge Labhartha, UCC, will be available to students during their Professional Master of Education studies.

YEAR 1

Students take 60 credits as follows: Core Modules (50 credits)

• ED6301 Philosophy and History of Education (5 credits)
• ED6302 Introduction to Psychology and Sociology of Education (5 credits) 
• ED6303 Curriculum and Assessment (5 credits)
• ED6306 Inclusion – Special Educational Needs and Multicultural Education (5 credits)
• ED6330 School Placement 1 (20 credits)
• ED6331 School Placement: Research and Professional Experiences Portfolio A (5 credits)
• ED6332 School Placement: Research and Professional Experiences Portfolio B (5 credits)

plus 10 credits from the following:

• ED6308 The Teaching of Business Studies (5 credits)
• ED6309 The Teaching of Civic, Social and Political Education (5 credits)
• ED6312 The Teaching of English (5 credits)
• ED6313 The Teaching of a Second Language 1A (5 credits)
• ED6314 The Teaching of a Second Language 1B (5 credits)
• ED6315 The Teaching of Geography (5 credits)
• ED6316 The Teaching of History (5 credits)
• ED6317 The Teaching of Mathematics (5 credits)
• ED6318 The Teaching of Music (5 credits)
• ED6319 The Teaching of Religious Education (5 credits)
• ED6321 Cross Curricular Pedagogies (5 credits)
• ED6325 The Teaching of Physical Sciences (5 credits) 
• ED6326 The Teaching of Biological Sciences (5 credits) 
• ED6327 The Teaching of Irish (5 credits)

YEAR 2 (from 2015/16)

Students take 60 credits as follows: Core Modules (55 credits)

• ED6340 School Placement 2 (20 credits)
• ED6341 Collaborative Seminar: Contemporary Issues in Irish Schools (5 credits)
• ED6342 Foundational Themes in Education (5 credits)
• ED6343 Professional Research Paper in Education (20 credits)
• ED6354 Literacy and Numeracy Development in the Post-Primary Classroom (5 credits)

plus 5 credits from the following:

• ED6344 The Teaching of Business Studies 2 (5 credits)
• ED6345 The Teaching of Mathematics 2 (5 credits)
• ED6346 The Teaching of a Second Language 2 (5 credits)
• ED6347 The Teaching of English 2 (5 credits)
• ED6348 The Teaching of History 2 (5 credits)
• ED6349 The Teaching of Geography 2 (5 credits)
• ED6350 The Teaching of Science 2 (5 credits)
• ED6351 Cross Curricular Pedagogies 2 (5 credits)
• ED6355 The Teaching of Music 2 (5 credits) 
• ED6356 The Teaching of Religious Education 2 (5 credits) 
• ED6357 The Teaching of Irish 2 (5 credits)

Detailed Entry Requirements

Students are normally allowed to teach only those subjects, which they have pursued to an advanced level in their degree. At least one of these subjects must be approved by the Teaching Council for teacher registration*. (To teach French, German, Irish, Italian, Spanish, students must have studied the language as a major subject in their primary degree extending over at least three years and of the order of 30% at a minimum of that period). Students normally also teach a second subject in which they have some recognised academic attainment and for which they are recognised to teach by the Teaching Council. All students are required to attend pedagogy courses to support the teaching of both their teaching subjects. Students who do not have a second teaching subject will be required to attend a cross-curricular pedagogy course to further support, develop and deepen the teaching of their main subject.

As per Teaching Council guidelines, the programme includes a requirement for two separate mentored and supervised school placements (one in Year 1 and one in Year 2) in recognised cooperating post-primary schools. School placements are designed to give student teachers opportunities to gain professional experience in classrooms and schools, to learn about teaching and learning in a variety of situations, to participate fully in the life of the school and to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of the teacher and the school more generally. In both Years 1 and 2, students must obtain teaching hours in cooperating post-primary schools normally within a 50km radius of Cork City, which will facilitate their attendance at the required lectures and other commitments on campus on specific days and times during the teaching week. The list of approved cooperating schools for PME school placements is available on the UCC School of Education website at 

A candidate for the Professional Master of Education may not simultaneously pursue any other programme except with the special permission of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences.In confirming that your degree is eligible for the purposes of registration you must ensure that your degree programme fully complies with the requirements set out in the General and Special Requirements for Teachers of Recognised Subjects in Mainstream Post Primary Education of the Teaching Council  www.teachingcouncil.ie: Regulations.  For persons applying for registration on and after 1 January 2017 please check the changes which have been made in the Guidelines as set out by the Teaching Council. 

Garda Vetting

All candidates are vetted through the Garda Vetting system and will be contacted by the Admissions Office UCC. 

Applicants wishing to pursue the PME are now eligible to apply for the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) from the Department of Social Protection. Website: www.welfare.ie

Course Practicalities

Once offered a place, students must arrange a first year school placement from the list of co-operating schools provided. Second year students also organise their second placement in a contrasting school setting mediated by the School of Education Placement Co-ordinator. You must teach a specified number of lessons per week in both Years 1 and 2, as laid down by the School of Education to meet the requirements of the Teaching Council. School placements last for the full school year, during which student teachers are expected to participate fully in school life. College lectures and tutorials commence in early September, and are held on specific days in both academic years.

Assessment

Assessment for the PME is primarily by continuous assessment with a small number of written exams. Continuous assessment includes project work related to the various modules culminating with the writing up of a larger piece of professional classroom/school research at the end of Year 2. There is a strong emphasis on the integration and application of theory and practice throughout all assignments. School placement is assessed over a series of visits to the placement school by the allocated university tutors. Students must pass both the school placement and course-work modules in both years in order to be awarded the PME.