Can I teach History with a Politics degree?

3

I have started a PGCE in social sciences. My expertise is politics but I have learned most of what I teach will be sociology and particularly psychology which I know very little about. My course offered to switch me to history which is my passion after politics, however I don’t have history qualifications beyond GCSE and some uni modules.
My question is, even if my course lets me switch, would I be employable as a history teacher who didn’t even do history a level?

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 1

Manchester Metropolitan University

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Original post

by darioskrytek

I have started a PGCE in social sciences. My expertise is politics but I have learned most of what I teach will be sociology and particularly psychology which I know very little about. My course offered to switch me to history which is my passion after politics, however I don’t have history qualifications beyond GCSE and some uni modules.
My question is, even if my course lets me switch, would I be employable as a history teacher who didn’t even do history a level?

Hi @darioskrytek

Once you have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) you can technically apply for any teaching job at a secondary school, so even though you would have a PGCE Secondary Social Science qualification there is nothing stopping you applying for history teaching jobs. You would however, likely be in competition with those that have a PGCE Secondary History qualifications. It also depends what subject your undergraduate degree was in.

Usually, with a Social Science PGCE you go on to teach sociology, criminology, PSHE and some psychology. If your undergraduate degree is in politics, then that subject as well.

If you end up switching to the PGCE Secondary History course, it wouldn't matter that you don't have the History A-Level when applying for history teaching jobs. The PGCE qualification should be sufficient.

I would advise contacting one of the online advisors on the Get Into Teaching website as they may be able to offer some guidance.

Hope this helps.
Mel 😊

Reply 2

marta.866

1

Original post

by darioskrytek

I have started a PGCE in social sciences. My expertise is politics but I have learned most of what I teach will be sociology and particularly psychology which I know very little about. My course offered to switch me to history which is my passion after politics, however I don’t have history qualifications beyond GCSE and some uni modules.
My question is, even if my course lets me switch, would I be employable as a history teacher who didn’t even do history a level?

I also have a BA in Politics (PPE), and I'm currently studying for a PGCE in Further Education. I also tried to apply for a PGCE in History —since this only guarantees a QTLS, not a QTS— but the university told me I couldn't get in. But in practice, I've been checking job postings for a while now, and I see that the job postings for politics lecturers offer a position to teach politics and history. So (which is why I also applied), I don't think it's a bad option to do the PGCE in History when there's no specialisation in Citizenship, which is the specific area for political scientists. But as they say, your speciality doesn't matter (actually, I don't understand why universities offer it by speciality if they don't consider it in jobs, and the expertise in the subject comes from a BA).
Anyway, I also considered Social Sciences, as long as you know a minimum of psychology: after all, politics is a speciality of sociology —in Spain, the two degrees have always been linked.
Good luck! :smile:

Can I teach History with a Politics degree?

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