cartwright

Hi

Having read all the wow about trying to teach down under with a GTP i was wondering if anyone had experience with a PG Cert. Having just completed my GTP i have the opportunity to do a year and gain a PG Cert with the university. Does anyone know if this counts as a Post Grad Qualification and if the powers that be expect it??

Any help would be great as my life has been turned upside down on the news that GTP is not recognised outside the UK, Why don’t they tell us this before we start??

Also a few people have now said that the GTP is now accepted in New Zealand, does anyone know if this is true???

Many Thanks

Megan.

Swerv-o

The fact that the GTP is only accepted in a limited number of countries is always omitted from the information websites. Read into this what you like, but this trap has caught a number of would be migrants over the last couple of years. Personally, I think that somebody should start a website or something that details the harsh reality of this route (though I notice that it does explain the international recognition issues on the GTP Wikipedia page).

Anyway, I am not quite sure what you are asking. What PG Cert do you mean? Is it the PGCE for primary/secondary teaching, or is it the PGCE for Post 16/FE colleges/Adult education?

If it's the former, I am surprised that they will allow you to enroll if you already hold QTS. If the latter, then I don't believe this certificate is recognised as a valid route into [Australian] teaching either. Certainly from my dealings with the the NSW and SA Depts of education, they are (were) unwilling to accept this certificate as a valid teaching qualification.

If you provide a bit more detail, then people may be able to help out more.


S

cartwright

Thanks for replying!

The PG Cert is basically the option to complete the final 'academic' assignments that make your GTP equal to a PGCE. At the end of the year you come out with a qualification worth 60 credits, or a third of an MA, which is exactly what you have with a PGCE.
The reason I'm confused is because technically this post graduate qualification will put your GTP on equal footing with a GTP (as even in the UK the GTP is obviously not seen as an academic qualification, but rather a vocational one), however I'm not sure whether it would be seen this way in Australia - do they require a PGCE because it's literally the only qualification they'll accept, or is it simply that they require a post graduate qualification???

WS

I'm not sure if anyone on here will know the answer. Is this for a skills assessment for immigration or for recognition with a state to teach?

Maybe you could contact http://www.teachingaustralia.edu.au/ta/go/home and ask them directly if they would accept this PG qualification.

Swerv-o

Ok, I'm with you now. I think that you may be on a hiding to nothing unless you will receive a PGCE certificate from a UK tertiary education establishment - Either a Uni or a College of Further education. Having gained the equivalent points and equal footing will not count for much in my opinion. What exactly are you going to get out of this course? Will it be certified by the University as a PGCE? I think this because I did all my teacher training at a College of FE, with day attatchments to a university, but because the FE college certified it instead of the Uni, TeachNSW would have none of it.

I think that for teachers coming from the UK, the standard is a PGCE (PGDE if from Scotland) with the required teaching practicums. I don't think that they will accept anything else, unless you have done a masters or something that incorporated all of the elements of a PGCE + practical teaching with it. You need to find out exactly what the uni are offering you, and then if that will be accepted by (a) Teaching Australia (for migration purposes) and (b) the relevant state teaching authorities (for registration purposes when you arrive.

It would be so easy for the government to allow Tertiary institutions to provide distance courses that could allow successful GTP candidates to convert their practical experience into a fully recognised and certified award, but of course this isn't in their interests...


S

Candlestick

Hi Swerv-o,

Sorry to others for hijacking the GTP thread but ... I was really interested to read of your experience with the PGCE post 16. My partner has this qualification and I have been researching the options for him in recent months.

As we're both teachers we can apply for a visa on the basis of my primary qualifications so recognition from Teaching Aus shouldn't be the problem. In terms of registration, when the time comes (after however many years of waiting for the visa!), I'm still quite confused.

VIT (we're thinking Victoria first as I have family there) have told us he doesn't need QTS to register but his college principal has to fill in the form showing that he can meet the standards for secondary teaching. I'm hoping that this will be acceptable because, looking at the standards, he does seem to fulfil these (and he works with 16 - 18 year olds rather than adults). Also, his PGCE was awarded to him by the University (not the college). Do you think this makes a big difference?

Thanks for any advice!

dave77

Hi! I've just Pm'd you

Briar

I cannot talk about anywhere but Western Australia. But to teach here you have to have a 4 year university education, one year of which must be teacher training. GTP plus PGCE is not acceptable. A previous poster suggested contacting Teaching Australia for an assessment, and that is, in my view, the best option before you go any further.