Personal Statement:PGCE Primary Education

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PGCE Primary Education Personal Statement

Education is vital to every child’s future and I would love to be a part of this. The early years not only provide the academic foundations that shape their later life, but also their attitudes towards schooling, which can affect their future careers and their ability to socialise with peers. Therefore, it is essential that the pupils enjoy their education and learn a lot, which I want to help them achieve.

Although I have not got a degree in a national curriculum subject, I still have a good basis for primary school teaching. Throughout my degree I had to write several essays and practical reports, which improved my scientific writing skills. My A Level in English Language enabled me to gain competency in literacy, as it covered a large amount of grammar and sentence structure, in addition to analysis of texts dating back to the 1600s and creating original articles using information provided by other texts. Psychology is science-orientated and I did A Level Biology, as well as all the sciences individually at GCSE, so I have a good knowledge base in all aspects of science required for primary school level. In particular, biology and psychology also required proficiency in numeracy through using various data analysis techniques, which I gained throughout my education from GCSE Mathematics onwards.

My psychology degree has provided me with a good background to education, as there are areas that aid understanding of children’s thought processes when presented with information. For example, in developmental psychology I learnt how children mature, which can help me to understand their mental capabilities, and use strategies such as scaffolding to aid learning. Cognitive psychology has helped me understand the mechanics of memory and how to utilise this to maximise their retention of information.

As well as a strong theoretical basis for the course, I have good practical experience for teaching. During my degree, I participated in the York Students In Schools programme, where I was placed in the dyslexia unit of a local primary school. The placement was varied, as I was doing different activities such as reading, correcting prose, phonetic tasks and explaining parts of the lessons the children did not understand. I have also used initiative by adapting my assistance to the children based on how much they understood. It also helped improve my communication with both the adults and pupils in the school.

More recently, I obtained a job as a teaching assistant in a Year 3 class. This has proved very informative and interesting, assisting children who are struggling, by giving them more practice in their areas of weakness. The feeling of accomplishment when they understood something they previously could not grasp was very rewarding. It has also taught me the importance of gaining a good rapport with the children, in order for them to respect and listen to you, as well as the need to stay calm when dealing with difficult pupils. I have the responsibility of running the netball club at the school, and this has built upon my leadership skills gained from completing the Community Sports Leader’s Award, which I obtained at college.

From my work experience in education, it is clear to me that I want to work with children in a school setting, as I am keen to make a positive impact on their lives, both academically and also more generally. I believe that I possess the necessary skills to make a good teacher, such as resourcefulness, communication and leadership.

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