How selective are PGCE courses?

Go to cambridge and study philosophy at one of the best philosophy departments in the world at one of the best universities in the world. Then apply to do early years pgce which isnt always subject specific but lets you qualify to teach foundation and primary (3-11 year) anyway. BEd & BA(Ed) degrees are good but not neccessary, and in all fairness are being phased out at many unis. If your passion is philosophy stick with that. If your passion is teaching do a BEd/BA(Ed). If you are not sure stick with philosophy since its probably a harder degree with a lot more prestige outside of teaching circles. I know oxford graduates with degrees in history or theology that are now early years/primary school teachers and i know expoly students (plymouth, brookes etc) who have studied marine biology or psychology and now early years teachers - you would be in a similar boat as them with philosophy degree. Hope this help :smile:

Reply 3

I'm pretty sure you can get on a PGCE with the Phil degree from Cam. I wouldn't miss the opportunity to study there. Tripos transfer could be an option.

Reply 4

RieLouise

1

The Boosh

Go to cambridge and study philosophy at one of the best philosophy departments in the world at one of the best universities in the world. Then apply to do early years pgce which isnt always subject specific but lets you qualify to teach foundation and primary (3-11 year) anyway. BEd & BA(Ed) degrees are good but not neccessary, and in all fairness are being phased out at many unis. If your passion is philosophy stick with that. If your passion is teaching do a BEd/BA(Ed). If you are not sure stick with philosophy since its probably a harder degree with a lot more prestige outside of teaching circles. I know oxford graduates with degrees in history or theology that are now early years/primary school teachers and i know expoly students (plymouth, brookes etc) who have studied marine biology or psychology and now early years teachers - you would be in a similar boat as them with philosophy degree. Hope this help :smile:

Cambridge got all snotty about the BEd and replaced it with the BA in Education Studies: http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/ugrad/edstud.html

Reply 5

It doesnt suprise me - education studies has really come into its own in the last few years, as opposed to a teacher training course which is less academic and more practical and geared towards teacher skills. I assume (though I could be wrong) that Cambridge wants very critical and reflexive practioners, hence doing education studies + pgce rather than a BEd. The culture of the field has changed over the years and teaching technologies are being rejected in favour of producing critical teachers.

Reply 6

I study Education Studies with no real intention of becoming a teacher. It is a very intense and inter-disciplinary course. Mine is Sociology based and some are Psychology based.

Reply 7

yeah the more i study/research in education studies the more i like it. i used to hate it, thinking it was a very very weak field. a few years ago it was criticised in a major way because the research was very poor (and still is in a lot of places - see the Thomlinson Report and the nationally poor RAE) but its getting much better, especially since its strong in interdisciplinary research which is what a lot of top departments everywhere want now. Since I study it myself i now see the differences between teaching courses (how to be a teacher) and education studies (a purely academic venture). I think it had a bit of a crises similar to how sociology did in the 1970's and 1980's which was under attack as not being a real field, it hid for a few years then redefined itself and came back in a big way and now is great. I guess many fields share similar histories though.

Reply 8

I agree all the way. I used to be on a teacher training course and they are two completely different entities.

However, I do believe that Education Studies has been considered a strong field in Germany for a while. After all, my school, a rather good 'Gymnasium' focused on modern and classic languages, offered Education Studies as a MAJOR for my A-levels!

Reply 9

wow! do you study in the uk?

Reply 10

No, I go to Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany :biggrin:

I did a semester abroad at Middlesex and that was hell (though the Education Studies dept. was not actually that bad, but ho hum) and nearly went to Goldsmiths College to do their BA Education, Culture and Society

Reply 11

hehehe cool - never been to berlin before,been tempted to fly over for the love parade a few times but finances never permit me to do it!

Reply 12

Too late now, the Love Parade isn't on anymore. You should check out Berlin anyway. It's rocking :biggrin:

Reply 13

hugsnkisses

9

You will need a national subject i was supposed to be doing sociology and have had to change courses to english and educational studies instead.

Reply 14

No you don't necessarily. Sure, you stand better chances degree-wise, but Sociology could have worked out too.

Reply 15

Nel48

Just to chip in - maybe you could combine the Philosophy with an academic subject like maths/english etc to get the best of both worlds as PGCEs need at least half your course in what you wish to teach (i think this applies to primary too - but im not sure)

Also (to yourjoyismylow), I've been to Berlin twice and lllloooovvvveeedddd it - although the second time i went it was -22 in Jan - not nice. I'm going again this September before i go to study German at uni!

Reply 16

Nel48

Also (to yourjoyismylow), I've been to Berlin twice and lllloooovvvveeedddd it - although the second time i went it was -22 in Jan - not nice. I'm going again this September before i go to study German at uni!

I love Berlin :suith:

I only ended up here by accident really, and am so glad :biggrin:

Berlin is the best place on earth.
It does get cold in the winter, but the summers are sooo beautiful :biggrin:

Let me know when you are here, maybe we can meet for a drink :smile:

Reply 17

Nel48

Yey - have you got any ideas of good places to go, any good bars, restaurants? We've visited all the usual touristy places; Reichstag, Fernseher Turm etc. We'll be staying in the Wannsee area so hopefully we can swim in the lake :smile:

Reply 18