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The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
which provides training in order to allow graduates to become
teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
s within maintained schools. In England, there are two routes available to gaining a PGCE – either on a traditional university-led teacher training course or school-led teacher training. In addition to gaining the PGCE qualification itself, those who have successfully completed the course in England or Wales are recommended for qualified teacher status (QTS) - the requirement to teach in state maintained schools in
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
. Those passing PGCEs in Northern Ireland are granted 'eligibility to teach' in Northern Ireland (equivalent to QTS). Though the QTS/eligibility to teach only applies in the Home Nation it was awarded in, applying for QTS/eligibility to teach in either of the other two Home Nations is a formality, and is nearly always awarded to PGCE holders. Furthermore, the PGCE is also widely recognised in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and the rest of the world, allowing holders to easily register as teachers there. The PGCE was previously also offered in Scotland, but was renamed the
Professional Graduate Diploma in Education The Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) is a one-year postgraduate course for prospective teachers in Scotland. Successful completion of this course allows an individual to teach in a Scottish state school. All PGDE courses at each Uni ...
(PGDE) from 2005 to 2006 (the exact year depending on the university offering it). It is identical in content to the previous PGCE. Like the PGCE, the PGDE is widely recognised throughout the rest of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and the rest of the world. Applications for admission to PGCE courses are handled by UCAS Teacher Training. Further and higher education lecturers are not usually required to hold QTS/eligibility to teach. However, many lecturers attend training courses to gain qualifications such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Further Education (PGCFE), which is comparable to the regular PGCE. There is also the PGCHE, for university practitioners.


Course content and structure

The PGCE is a professional qualification normally taught at a
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
or other
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...
institution, with much of the course time spent on placements in local schools. A trainee teacher will have to meet the Standards for qualified teacher status and any course specific requirements to be awarded the PGCE. In England only, a trainee teacher also has to pass the professional skills tests before starting a course. The training provider will then recommend the trainee teacher for QTS to the relevant body: * The National College for Teaching and Leadership (England) *
General Teaching Council for Wales The General Teaching Council for Wales was the body overseeing the qualification, registration, and good conduct of teachers in Wales. It was replaced in 2015 by the Education Workforce Council The Education Workforce Council (EWC), or cy, Cyn ...
(Wales) or eligibility to teach to the: * General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland) After gaining QTS, the candidate becomes a newly qualified teacher (NQT) and embarks on an induction programme in their first post.


Equivalence

The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) sits at Level 7 of the
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications The national qualification frameworks in the United Kingdom are qualifications frameworks that define and link the levels and credit values of different qualifications. The current frameworks are: * The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) for ...
, while the Professional Certificate in Education (ProfGCE) sits a Level 6. The PGCE is not a postgraduate degree, it is instead an advanced but non- degree qualification (as it is directly related to a career, it is considered vocational). From 2005 to 2007, most universities attached credits towards a master's degree to their PGCertEds. PGCEs that do not carry master's credits are now known as Professional Graduate Certificate in Education. A recent review of the equivalence of qualifications in Scotland declared the PGCertEd to be equivalent to a
postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award pos ...
(which in turn is equivalent to the taught element of a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
). This left the PGCE with a rather inappropriate name as a postgraduate certificate is a lower level than the postgraduate diploma, requiring only half the amount of work. As a result, the PGCE in Scotland were renamed to Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE). The PGCE in Lifelong Learning or Post-Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) is considered to be equivalent to the Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS) at QCF Level 7. The DTLLS was also taught at QCF Level 5. According to
Education International Education International (EI) is a global union federation (GUF) of teachers' trade unions consisting of 401 member organizations in 172 countries and territories that represents over 30 million education personnel from pre-school through universi ...
, equivalency assessments place the PGCE as equivalent to a Masters Level degree in the United States and Canada. Although the program is shorter in delivery time than a typical masters level program, its intensive delivery model (specifically within Wales, offered by
University of Wales Trinity Saint David , image = Crest of TSD.png , image_size = 200px , caption = Coat of armsUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint David , established = 2010 (Saint David's College, Lampeter founded 1822 and opened 1827; royal charter 1828) , ...
) meets all requirements to confer this type of post-graduate degree in North America.


Fees

For PGCE courses in England, a fee of £9,250 will normally be charged, which can be borrowed (at interest) from Student Finance England. In September 2012, the government introduced a new initiative with the aim of encouraging the best graduates into the teaching profession, particularly in mathematics, physics, computer science, chemistry and modern foreign languages.


Independent schools

Teachers in
independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...
s in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are not required to hold any particular qualifications, although most schools now prefer applicants to have a PGCE, especially younger people going into teaching as a first career. This flexibility does allow them to occasionally hire older people who have practical experience, such as appointing ex-engineers as mathematics or physics teachers, or appointing people with high-level postgraduate qualifications but no formal teacher-training.


Other qualifications

The PGCE is the main postgraduate route for teacher training in England and Wales, but there are a number of other ways to gain QTS. See Qualified Teacher Status#Routes to QTS.


See also

*
School-Centred Initial Teacher Training The School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme is a teacher-training course in England. The SCITT enables graduates to undertake their training within a school environment, leading to Qualified Teacher Status. Some SCITT programme ...


References


External links


Graduate Teacher Training RegistryDepartment of Education's website for teaching
(England)
Discover teaching in Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postgraduate Certificate In Education Professional titles and certifications Educational qualifications in England Educational qualifications in Wales Educational qualifications in Northern Ireland pt:Licenciatura