The Professional Master of Education is a full-time programme running for two academic years from the date of first registration for the programme.

Candidates must have a primary degree that is recognised by the Teaching Council of Ireland for the teaching of at least one subject in a post-primary school. It will be necessary to limit the number of students admitted to the programme (UCC's current quota is 120 students per year. Within this quota, a subject quota of 10 applies to Business Studies and Business related degrees).

A candidate for the Professional Master of Education may not simultaneously pursue any other programme except with the special permission of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences.

School Placement
The course includes teaching placements under supervision in recognised second level schools. All candidates, therefore, must obtain teaching placements in one of the School of Education’s cooperating second-level schools (see below under Programme Requirements for further details on School Placement).

Application forms for admission to the programme will be available online from PAC (Postgraduate Applications Centre), 1 Courthouse Square, Galway. Tel: 091 549260. www.pac.ie. Application forms should be completed not later than the advertised closing date.

Garda Vetting
All candidates are vetted through the Garda Vetting system.

Fitness to Practise
This programme is subject to the University's Fitness to Practise Policy - full details may be found here.

School Placement
As per Teaching Council guidelines, the programme includes a requirement for two separate mentored and supervised school placements (one in Year 1 and one in Year 2) in recognised cooperating post-primary schools. School placements are designed to give student teachers opportunities to gain professional experience in classrooms and schools, to learn about teaching and learning in a variety of situations, to participate fully in the life of the school and to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of the teacher and the school more generally. In both Years 1 and 2, students must obtain teaching hours in cooperating post-primary schools normally within a 50km radius of Cork City, which will facilitate their attendance at the required lectures and other commitments on campus on specific days and times during the teaching week. The list of approved cooperating schools for PME school placements is available on the UCC School of Education website at http://www.ucc.ie/en/education

Students are normally allowed to teach only those subjects, which they have pursued to an advanced level in their degree. At least one of these subjects must be approved by the Teaching Council for teacher registration*. (To teach French, German, Irish, Italian, Spanish, students must have studied the language as a major subject in their primary degree extending over at least three years and of the order of 30% at a minimum of that period). Students normally also teach a second subject in which they have some recognised academic attainment and for which they are recognised to teach by the Teaching Council. All students are required to attend pedagogy courses to support the teaching of both their teaching subjects. Students who do not have a second teaching subject will be required to attend a cross-curricular pedagogy course to further support, develop and deepen the teaching of their main subject.

For Year 1 the responsibility for securing a placement school from the list of UCC School of Education PME cooperating schools rests entirely with the student. A school placement should not be secured until students have been offered a place on the PME programme. After selection by the school, students sign a placement form and are contracted until the end of the school year to carry out their teaching placement in the school in question. Students must ensure that there is a minimum of twelve students in their placement class groups for supervision purposes.

Each student is expected to have a contrasting placement experience in a different school context for Year 2. The placement school for Year 2 will be again selected by the student but the choice will be mediated by the School of Education Placement Co-ordinator and must be approved by the School of Education.

Students are required to spend a minimum of 100 hours of personal experience of directly teaching a class or classes in one or more approved subjects (6-8 classes per week) in Year 1 and 150 hours (10-11 classes per week) in Year 2. In both years placement must be undertaken on specific days and during specific times for the entire school year from late August until the following June.  In both Years 1 and 2, students are required to prepare and maintain a School Placement Teaching File with evidence of long and short term planning, daily and weekly reflections, resources and other relevant data for all their class groups for the duration of their placements. During both placements students are also required to engage in non-teaching school activities for an equivalent number of hours. This experience will normally include lesson planning, preparation and reflection, opportunities for some classroom observation of experienced teachers, team teaching, particpation in school meetings, and other collaborative work with school staff and the extended school community. During these non-teaching activities, students in Year 1 will also be required to complete a variety of directed research tasks pertaining to their placement (e.g. pertaining to classroom management, teacher questioning, ICT, learning theories, school supports and school communication), which form part of a School Placement Research and Professional Experiences Portfolio. Year 2 students will engage in more school activities commensurate with their evolving school experience and increased time in school and will also conduct research related to their classroom or school context, which will form part of their required Professional Research Paper in Education.

*Note: To be eligible for appointment to an incremental salaried teaching position in a secondary school, a teacher must be registered. It is the Teaching Council alone which has the authority to determine what constitutes adequate qualifications for registration purposes. See www.teachingcouncil.ie for registration details.

Irish Language Requirement
While the Irish requirement has been removed for the generality of second-level teachers who do not use Irish in their everyday work, teachers of Irish and teachers employed in Gaeltacht schools and in other schools where Irish is the medium of instruction will be required to be fully proficient in Irish. A special course in spoken Irish, run by An Gaeilge Labhartha, UCC, will be available to students during their Professional Master of Education studies.

YEAR 1
Students take 60 credits as follows:

Core Modules (50 credits)

ED6301 Philosophy and History of Education (5 credits)
ED6302 Introduction to Psychology and Sociology of Education (5 credits)
ED6303 Curriculum and Assessment (5 credits)
ED6306 Inclusion – Special Educational Needs and Multicultural Education (5 credits)
ED6330 School Placement 1 (20 credits)
ED6331 School Placement: Research and Professional Experiences Portfolio A (5 credits)
ED6332 School Placement: Research and Professional Experiences Portfolio B (5 credits)

plus 10 credits from the following:
ED6308 The Teaching of Business Studies (5 credits)
ED6309 The Teaching of Civic, Social and Political Education (5 credits)
ED6312 The Teaching of English (5 credits)
ED6313 The Teaching of a Second Language 1A (5 credits)
ED6314 The Teaching of a Second Language 1B (5 credits)
ED6315 The Teaching of Geography (5 credits)
ED6316 The Teaching of History (5 credits)
ED6317 The Teaching of Mathematics (5 credits)
ED6318 The Teaching of Music (5 credits)
ED6319 The Teaching of Religious Education (5 credits)
ED6321 Cross Curricular Pedagogies (5 credits)
ED6325 The Teaching of Physical Sciences (5 credits)
ED6326 The Teaching of Biological Sciences (5 credits)
ED6327 The Teaching of Irish (5 credits)

Module Semester Information may be found here. Module descriptions may be found here.

Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2016 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules 2015/2016.

YEAR 2
Students take 60 credits as follows:

Core Modules (55 credits)
ED6340 School Placement 2 (20 credits)
ED6341 Collaborative Seminar: Contemporary Issues in Irish Schools (5 credits)
ED6342 Foundational Themes in Education (5 credits)
ED6343 Professional Research Paper in Education (20 credits)
ED6354 Literacy and Numeracy Development in the Post-Primary Classroom (5 credits)

plus 5 credits from the following:
ED6344 The Teaching of Business Studies 2 (5 credits)
ED6345 The Teaching of Mathematics 2 (5 credits)
ED6346 The Teaching of a Second Language 2 (5 credits)
ED6347 The Teaching of English 2 (5 credits)
ED6348 The Teaching of History 2 (5 credits)
ED6349 The Teaching of Geography 2 (5 credits)
ED6350 The Teaching of Science 2 (5 credits)
ED6351 Cross Curricular Pedagogies 2 (5 credits)
ED6355 The Teaching of Music 2 (5 credits)
ED6356 The Teaching of Religious Education 2 (5 credits)
ED6357 The Teaching of Irish 2 (5 credits)

Module Semester Information may be found here. Module descriptions may be found here.

Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2016 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules 2015/2016.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Professional Master of Education (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Behave in a professional manner with members of the teaching placement school communities and with all other professionals in the context of the Teaching Council’s Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers.
• Critically evaluate the various theories of Teaching and Learning, including curriculum design, and apply these theories to assist in teaching effective and inspiring lessons in the classroom.
• Select from complex and advanced skills in the field of Education and develop new skills, including those of pedagogy and assessment practices, to a high level.
• Synthesise the key components of some areas of current research in the field of Education and carry out a small scale research project to a professional standard.
• Develop comprehensive portfolios that chart their progress as reflective practitioners carrying out research in the areas of professional tasks and experiences in their placements schools and at university.
• Discuss topics in the field of Education to demonstrate a critical awareness of current problems and new insights informed by development in this area.
• Appraise the role of the teacher in the modern classroom to help manage their own learning and professional development.
• Foster an interest in and enthusiasm for their specialist subject among their pupils.
• Display a willingness to participate in all aspects of the programme in a spirit of co-operation and enthusiasm.
• Communicate effectively key aspects of knowledge and understanding in the field of Education to specialist and non-specialist audiences.