The Professional Master of Education (Art and Design) is a full-time programme running for two academic years from the date of first registration for the programme and is jointly awarded by UCC and CIT.

Candidates must have a primary degree that is recognised by the Teaching Council of Ireland for the teaching of art in a post-primary school. Eligible applicants will also be interviewed.

A candidate for the Professional Master of Education (Art and Design) may not simultaneously pursue any other programme except with the special permission of the Programme Coordinator in CIT Crawford College of Art and Design and UCC’s College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences.

School Placement
The course includes teaching placements under supervision in cooperating post-primary schools. All candidates, therefore, must obtain teaching placements in one of the School of Education’s recognised 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 second-level schools normally within a 50km radius of Cork City, which will facilitate their attendance at the required lectures, workshops and other commitments on campus on specific days and times during the teaching week. The list of approved cooperating schools for the Professional Master of Education (Art and Design) placement will be sent to successful applicants when they formally accept their place on the programme.

For Year 1 the responsibility for securing a placement school rests with the student. A school placement should not be secured until students have been offered a place on the programme. After interview by the school, students are contracted until the end of the school year to carry out their teaching placement in the school where their school placement forms were signed. Students must ensure that there is a minimum of twelve students in their placement class groups for supervision purposes.

To proceed to School Placement in Year 2 students must have passed the Year 1 placement. Each student in expected to have a contrasting placement experience in a different school context for Year 2. The placement school for Year 2 will again be selected by the student but the choice will be mediated and approved by the Head of Art and Design Education (CIT).

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 classes per week) in Year 1 and 150 hours (9 periods per week) in Year 2. In both years placement must be undertaken on specifc 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, participation 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 required 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 Art and Design 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 (Art and Design) studies.

YEAR 1
Students take 60 credits as follows:
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)
ED6322 School Placement 1 (20 credits)
ED6323 The Teaching of Art and Design (5 credits)
ED6324 Curriculum-related Art and Design Practice (5 credits)
ED6331 School Placement: Research and Professional Experiences Portfolio A (5 credits)
ED6332 School Placement: Research and Professional Experiences Portfolio B (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:
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)
ED6352 School Placement 2 (20 credits)
ED6353 The Teaching of Art and Design 2 (5 credits)
ED6354 Literacy and Numeracy Development in the Post-Primary Classroom (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 (Art and Design) (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 Practice.
• 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 .
• Demonstrate self-efficacy in professional development including evidence of ongoing personal art practice.