THE General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) has accredited the new MSc in Transformative Learning and Teaching to be offered by The University of Edinburgh.
The programme was developed in response to the Scottish Government’s call for new and innovative and creative routes into teaching.
This two-year Masters programme in initial teacher education (ITE), will provide those qualifying the opportunity to teach as either generalist teachers in Nursery to Secondary three, or as subject specialists in Primary five to Secondary six.
This programme is unique in Scotland, and is the first to enable early career teachers to qualify with a Masters award and to be able to teach across the primary–secondary sectors.
GTCS director of Education and Professional Learning, Ellen Doherty, said: “The MSc is an innovative and creative programme which supports the concept of a broad general education and enables teachers to assist learners at key transitions.”
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney, recently invited all of Scotland’s ITE providers to respond to a series of challenges which would see ‘new and innovative’ ITE routes being developed.
The MSc in Transformative Learning and Teaching is a response to that challenge, helping to shape teacher education for the future.
Over the coming months, GTCS will, as the accrediting body for Initial Education Programmes, be holding a number of accreditation events to consider the range of new programmes.
Chief executive, Ken Muir, said: “GTCS has the important role of ensuring that these new routes maintain and enhance the high standards of teaching and teacher education expected within our graduate teaching profession.
“It is important that these routes have been developed by the ITE universities with partnership working in mind and GTCS stands ready to prioritise their accreditation as part of our work to enhance teacher professionalism that will benefit children and young people across the country.”
In the first year of The University of Edinburgh’s programme, starting in September 2017, the subject specialisms will be computing science, English, mathematics and physics, reflecting national priorities and contributing to alleviating the shortage of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) teachers.
The inclusion of English also ensures a balanced range of subjects across the cohort.
In supporting the development of this new programme, Scottish Government has allocated 50 places, which have been taken from The University of Edinburgh’s MA Primary allocation.
The programme, developed in partnership between The University of Edinburgh and local authorities, aspires to a transformative agenda for learners and schools, seeking to support the development of an ‘activist’ approach in its graduates.
Activist teachers are those who have a well-informed commitment to social justice, and challenging injustices and inequalities through their teaching.
Notes to editors:
• The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is the world’s first fully independent, self-regulating, professional body for teaching. To find out more about GTCS and its Council visit www.gtcs.org.uk
• For more information on GTCS’s role in accrediting university programmes, see: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/TeacherJourney/universities.aspx
• For further information about the MSc in Transformative Learning and Teaching from The University of Edinburgh see: http://www.ed.ac.uk/education/graduate-school/taught-degrees/transformative-learning
• For information on Scottish Government’s announcement on new routes into teaching, see: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/News/news/news-routes-into-teaching.aspx
ENDS
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Contact: Evelyn Wilkins
Phone: 0131 3146077
Email: evelyn.wilkins@gtcs.org.uk
Website: http://www.gtcs.org.uk
