Speakers:

An introduction to university courses in education
Kari Eilertsen, Student Recruitment Officer - Widening Participation and Outreach at Plymouth Marjon University

Routes into teaching
Ellen Bailey, Student Recruitment Officer at Bishop Grosseteste University

Hosted by
Jon Cheek, Founder and Director, UniTasterDays.com

Event Summary

This webinar is hosted by Jon Cheek, the Founder and Director of UniTasterDays. Guidance is provided for students to help them make good choices when considering university. The guest speakers for this event are Kari Eilertsen, the Student Recruitment Officer – Widening Participation and Outreach at Plymouth Marjon University and Ellen Bailey, the Student Recruitment Officer at Bishop Grosseteste University.

An introduction to university courses in education
Kari explains what it means to study a degree in education and the two types – Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. She speaks about the areas this course covers and joint honour degrees you can choose with education such as early childhood, outdoor education and psychology.

On UCAS there are 1917 courses from 188 providers across the UK and Kari discusses how you should narrow down your decision based on a variety of factors such as modules, type of university, location and assessment. She also touches on opportunities you will have to complete placements and study abroad as well as graduate prospects in areas such as teaching, publishing and psychology. Finally, Kari talk about the transferable skills you gain on an education degree useful for a variety of careers.

Routes into teaching
Ellen starts of by explaining the qualifications you need to teach, bearing in mind that it is a graduate profession. She states what you’ll need to have achieved in your GCSE’s and undergraduate degree as well speaking about the other requirements you will need to become a teacher. These include work experience, which will help your application, a DBS check and a fitness to teach test.

Your personal statement is a really important part of your application and Ellen speaks about what you should include and how to show your enthusiasm and passion for this career. She touches on the range of ways to get into teaching such as through an undergraduate degree, a PGCE and a school direct programme. All these routes are different and have a variety of entry requirements. After completing your course teaching in schools is not the only route you can pursue, with graduates having gone to work in rehabilitation centres, becoming private tutors and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).

Session summary from Rubaya Zaman, a final year English Literature student at the University of Birmingham.