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Studying education: international postgraduate opportunities
Like other programmes in the UK, the Institute’s student population is approximately 60% existing teachers and education professionals, with a further 20% being education administrators, such as government education officers and managers. In the UK, the numbers of students choosing to study for the postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE), the qualification many with bachelors degrees in a subject-specific field take to enable them to enter the teaching profession, is steadily rising. Between 2002 and 2005 interest rose from 24,240 to 26,525, with a similar increase in the number of students qualifying as teachers. The Institute is one of the universities behind educating some of the brightest and most influential teachers of the next generation.
The field of education is so popular for institutions such as the University of Melbourne that they have adapted their programmes so that a number of their subject areas can be delivered offshore in Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand. Members of staff from Melbourne’s Faculty of Education teach selected postgraduate programmes aimed at existing practitioners by travelling to their partner college at fixed times every year. For example, three postgraduate programmes are taught in Singapore; early childhood education and training and development in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Management; and a masters degree in educational mangement, taught in close collaboration with the Academy of Principals and the National Institute of Education. All three programmes offer flexible learning opportunities for professionals already in the field, seeking to develop their expertise but having to balance the conflicting pressures of work and family life with part-time study. By offering professionally orientated programmes in the field of education at a distance, Melbourne has successfully extended their appeal in a geographic area where the ability to study internationally and full-time are somewhat limited by career commitments.
The field of education provides many existing practitioners and students new to the profession with the chance to expand and improve their professional knowledge in either a specific or a more general area. The experience of institutions such as Teachers College, Columbia University and the Institute of Education, University of London provides potential students with a wealth of opportunities and the skills to develop truly fulfilling careers. If this is your area of interest, good luck in your search for your postgraduate programme!
