Teacher: Encyclopedia II - Teacher - Qualification and registration

Teacher - Qualification and registration

Teachers are usually educated in a university or college. Often they must be certified by a government body before they can teach in a school.

Teacher - Australia

Certification in Australia differs from state to state; however as a general rule all teachers must possess a tertiary certification - either a Bachelor of Education, BA (Education), Bachelor of Teaching or Graduate Diploma of Education (DipEd) - awarded by a Australian certified University or an equivalent award from overseas plus experience in the classroom. Many states now have Teacher Registration Boards or are soon to institute them. These organisations are charged with certifying potential teacher's qualification and ensure constant Professional Development.

Teacher - Canada

Canadian teachers must receive certification from a provincial College of Teachers in order to be able to teach in elementary and secondary schools. In order to be accepted, teachers need a recognized degree in Education, often on top of a recognized B.A., amounting to five years of university education. To earn a degree in secondary education, teachers must have a certain number of university credits in their subject field. This numbers varies from province to province, and from school to school. Other requirments such as a TB test, criminal record checks, and level of experience criteria may also be required.

The process for certification is somewhat different in Quebec relative to English Canada.

Teacher - England and Wales

In England and Wales teachers must have gained Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). There are many paths in which a person can work towards gaining their QTS, the most popular of which is to have completed a first degree program (such as a BA or BSc) and then a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE). Other methods include a specific teaching degree (BEd) or on-the-job training at a school. All qualified teachers in England must serve, after training, a statutory one year induction period that must be passed in order to remain a registered teacher. In Wales this period lasts for two years. During this period a teacher is known as an NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher). Schools are obliged to provide guidance, support and training to facilitate the NQT's success during this year. Local education authorities are also obliged to provide professional development opportunities.

Teacher - Scotland

In Scotland teachers must hold a valid teaching qualification (TQ) and be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland. Following initial teacher education and gaining a teaching qualification a Scottish teacher is deemed to be provisionaly registered with the GTCS and must undergo a year of probation supported through the Scottish Executive's induction programme.

There are several possible to routes to a TQ, including a Bachelor of Education in Music, Physical Education or Technological Education for secondary school or a general BEd for primary school, a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) or a concurrent undergraduate degree combining a Bachelor of Science or Scottish Master of Arts with the initial teacher education elements of a PGDE. Concurrent degrees are only avaible from the University of Stirling.

A Scottish teacher may only qualify in a subject directly related to their undergraduate or graduate studies.

For teachers qualified outside of Scotland an application must be made to the GTCS for exceptional registration.

Teacher - United States

In the United States, each state determines the requirements for getting a license to teach. Typical requirements include a bachelor's degree, education coursework, licensing exams, a criminal background check, and payment of a fee.

Until recently, a person could not teach unless he or she had completed a year or more of specific teaching training at a normal school. In the past two decades, normal school courses have been made optional through the promotion of Alternate Route teacher certification. New Jersey was the first state to establish an Alternate Route program, doing so in 1984. Since then, most states have established their own programs.

Teachers in New York State must have a Bachelor's degree and complete a Master's degree within five years. Additionally, to be permanently certified, teachers must pass three state exams on pedagogy, general knowledge and knowledge of a content area. In order to work in a public school a candidate must be fingerprinted.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are 1.4 million elementary school teachers, 600,000 middle school teachers, and 1 million secondary school teachers employed in the U.S.

US News has ranked Michigan State University as the #1 graduate program in teacher education for the last 11 years. Other prominent graduate schools of education include Stanford University, Harvard University, UC--Berkeley, UCLA, the University of Illinois--UC, the University of Indiana--Bloomington, and the University of Michigan.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Qualification and registration", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki