Postgraduate Certificate in Education

General  Regulations

• 1.  The Departmental Board of the Department of Education shall have power to grant Postgraduate Certificates in Education to candidates who have satisfied the relevant conditions prescribed in this section.

• 2. Candidates Theare examinationrequired to keep statutory residence and pursue their studies at Oxford during a period of at least 35 weeks in three terms. No student shall retain that status for themore Postgraduatethan Certificatesix terms in Education shall be under the supervision of the Departmental Board which shall have the power to make regulations concerning the examination and arrange lectures and courses of instruction for the Certificateall.

• 3.

  •  (a) All applicants for the Postgraduate Certificate in EducationApplicants must be graduates and have obtained on entry to the course a gradesuitable C or abovestandard in GCSE English Language and in GCSE Mathematics, (or their equivalent.

  • (b) Applicants must be graduates. Candidates for admissionand should normally have at least a good upper second class degree in a subject appropriate for the curriculum area to which they are applying.

• 4. After admission as a certificate student, a candidate must have kept statutory residence and pursued a course of study in Oxford for at least three terms before taking the examination.

• 54.  A student reading for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education, who is not a graduate of the University, may wear the same gown as that worn by Students students reading for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

• 5. The determination of any candidate’s fitness to teach during the course of the Postgraduate Certificate of Education must be carried out in accordance with Council Regulations 8 of 2006: Regulations for Procedures Concerning Fitness to Teach During the Course of the PGCE Programme.

Special  Regulations

• 1.  Course

  • (a) The course will consist of lectures, tutorials, seminars, and classes in the theory and practice of education, together with a serial placement and two extended periods of practical experience in schools or other educational settings.

  • (b)  The subjects of the course of study are as follows:

    Curriculum studies related to the professional knowledge, understanding and skills required for teaching a specific subject across the 11––18 age range:. the place of the subject in the school curriculum; the establishment and maintenance of a purposeful learning environment; lesson planning, teaching, and evaluation; formative and summative assessment; the promotion of young people’s health and well-being; professional team work and collaboration In each of the sevenThe subjects offered (include English, Geography, History, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages, Religious Education, and Science) an integrated programme requires students to set theoretical and research-based understandings alongside classroom observation and teaching experience, subjecting both the educational theory and the practice to rigorous critical evaluation. 

    A Professional Development Programme  presented through an integrated programme taught within the University and across the partnership schools, concerned with issues of policy and professional practice which transcend individual subjects. This programme is structured around a number of core themes which include: the changing nature of education and the role of schools; the developing school curriculum (secondary phase) and assessment; adolescence, learners and learning; inclusion and issues of social justice; teacher professionalism and collaborative working. It also includes training in research methods appropriate to the conduct of small scale practitioner research studies.

    School(c) Experience. The course includes 120 days’ experience in a schoolschools or other educational settingsettings nominated for this purpose by the Department of Education, normally for a period of not less than 120 days.

• Candidates are required to keep statutory residence and pursue their studies at Oxford during a period of at least 35 weeks in three terms for the dates shown at: http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/university_year/dates_of_term.html.

• 2.  Examination

• Every candidate will be required to satisfy the examiners in the following:

  • (a) an assignment of 4,000 to 5,000 words (including footnotes/endnotes but excluding appendices, references or bibliography) on an issue of professional practice which transcends individual subjects.

    Two typewritten/word-processed copies of the assignment must be delivered to thetwo PGCE Examiners, c/o the PGCE Course Administrator, Department of Education, 15 Norham Gardens, Oxford OX2 6PY at such dates and times as the examiners shall determine. Both copies of the assignment should be anonymous except for the candidate number.

  • (b) two curriculum assignments of 4,000-56,000 words each (including footnotes/endnotes but excluding appendices, references or bibliography), related to the theory and practice of teaching and learning within and beyond the candidate’’s own subject discipline (i.e. including reference to issue/s of professional practice which transcend individual subjects).

    TwoOne typewritten/word-processedelectronic copiescopy of eachthe assignment (in a software format available in the department) must be deliveredsubmitted online to a digital address provided by the PGCE Examiners, c/o the PGCE Course Administrator, Department of Education, 15 Norham Gardens, Oxford OX2 6PY  at such dates and times as the examiners shall determine. Both copies of eachEach assignment should be anonymous except for the candidate number.

  • (cb) an assessment of the candidate’’s professional attributes, knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to the Teachers’’ standards as determined by the Department for Education. This assessment is carried out by persons representing both the University and its partnership schools who are appointed for this purpose by the DepartmentalAcademic BoardCommittee of the Department of Education.

  Details of submission deadlines for the assignments set out under (a) and (b) above and of the deadlines for the assessment of candidate’’s professional attributes, knowledge, understanding and skills as set out in (cb) above shall be published annually in the PGCE course handbook distributed to candidates at the start of the course.

  The determination of any candidate’s fitness to teach during the course of the Postgraduate Certificate of Education programme must be carried out in accordance with the Regulations for procedures concerning fitness to teach during the PGCE programme published annually in the PGCE course handbook and made available to students on the first day of the PGCE term.

  Candidates may also be called for viva voce examination.

  If it is the opinion of the examiners that any or all of the candidate’’s written assignments are not of the standard required for the award of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education, but that all assignments are nevertheless of sufficient merit to meet the standards required for the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education, then the board may recommend that the candidate should be awarded the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education, provided that the candidate’’s professional attributes, knowledge, skills, and understanding are also assessed as having met the Teachers Standards.

  Candidates who fail the examination may apply to the Departmental Board to be re-examined on not more than one occasion which should normally be within one year of their initial failure.

  Those candidates who have failed the examination, but whose assignments meet the standards required for the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education, may apply for re-examination for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education within one academic year. In such cases the Departmental Board may recommend candidates to the Department for Education for the Award of Qualified Teacher Status even before their assignments have been resubmitted provided that they have satisfied the examiners in 2(cb) above.

  Candidates who fail to satisfy the examiners in 2(cb) above shall not be granted permission to re-enter for the examination.