EDUCATION ACT (CAP. 327)

Postgraduate Certificate in Education - P.G.C.E. - Course Regulations, 2007

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 74 (5) and 75 (6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta has promulgated the following regulations made by the Senate of the University of Malta by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by sections 75 and 79 of the said Act:

Citation and interpretation

1. (1) These regulations may be cited as the Postgraduate Certificate in Education - P.G.C.E. - Course Regulations, 2007.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Board" means the Board of the Faculty of Education;

"the Board of Studies" means the Board of Studies appointed by Senate for the Course;

"the Certificate" means the Postgraduate Certificate in Education - P.G.C.E.; and

"the Course" means the course of studies leading to the Postgraduate Certificate in Education - P.G.C.E.

Applicability

2. These regulations shall apply to courses starting in October 2006 or later.

Eligibility for the Certificate

3. To be eligible for the award of the Certificate, students must:

(a) be registered as regular students in terms of the Admission Regulations of the University and satisfy the Admission Requirements stipulated in regulation 4;

(b) complete the course of studies, obtain the credits indicated in paragraph (1) of regulation 10 and satisfy all the requirements prescribed in these regulations; and

(c) satisfy any other requirements prescribed in any other relevant statutes, regulations and bye-laws of the University.

Admission Requirements

4. (1) Applicants shall apply to register for the Course on the prescribed form and within the time specified by the Office of the Registrar.

(2) (a) The Board shall announce the areas of specialisation offered as approved by Senate, which shall normally be the subjects taught as curriculum subjects at secondary level, before the beginning of each Course. The areas of specialisation shall be offered depending on the availability of resources and the number of applicants who choose them. Applicants shall be required to indicate their choice of an area of specialisation as their teaching area at the time of application.

(b) (i) The Board shall also recommend to Senate the number of applicants that may be allowed to register for each area of specialisation in the Course, depending on the number of school placements available. The number of available places shall be announced at the time of the call for applications.

(ii) If there are more eligible applicants than the number of places available, applicants shall be selected by means of an interview, the purpose of which is to determine their relative aptitude to the chosen area of specialisation.

(3) To be registered as regular students in the Course, applicants must be in possession of:

(a) either an Honours degree, or an ordinary degree with at least Category II, in both cases with at least 60 ECTS credits in the area of specialisation chosen as the teaching area; and

(b) the European Computer Driving Licence; or

(c) other qualifications that the Board considers equivalent to those required in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of this regulation obtained from the University, or from an institution recognised by the Senate for the purpose.

(4) Applicants must also satisfy the Board that they have the necessary aptitude and may be required to attend for an interview for this purpose.

(5) In addition to the qualifications required by paragraph (3) of this regulation, applicants choosing the following areas of specialisation are also required to be in possession of credits in the areas of study indicated or in other areas of study as approved by the Board of Studies:

(a) for Business Education: a minimum of 30 ECTS credits at first degree level in each of two of the following areas of study: Accountancy, Economics, Banking and Finance, and Management;

(b) for Computing and Information Technology: a minimum of 60 ECTS credits at first degree level, or higher, in Computer Science, Information Systems and Computer/Communications Engineering, which must include study-units in at least four of the following areas to ensure a sufficiently broad knowledge base in the subject: Programming beyond an introductory level in any high-level programming language, Computer Logic and Organisation, Database Management Systems, Systems Analysis and Design, Data Structures and Algorithms, and Operating Systems. Applicants who have not successfully completed study-units in any of the above areas shall normally be required to follow additional study-units in the area/s they have not covered during their previous degree course, up to a maximum of 10 ECTS credits as directed by the Board."

(c) for Personal and Social Development: a minimum of 30 ECTS credits at first degree level in Psychology, and a minimum of 30 ECTS credits at first degree level in either Philosophy or Sociology or Social Psychology or a combination of any two of these areas;

(d) for Science: a minimum of 30 ECTS credits at first degree level in each of two of the following areas of study: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics;

(e) for Social Studies: a first degree with a minimum of 60 ECTS credits in Sociology or Social Studies or in any other area considered to be related by the Board of Studies; and

(f) for Technical Subjects: a first degree with a minimum of 60 ECTS credits in two of the following areas of study: Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Mechanical Engineering, or in any other area considered to be related by the Board of Studies.

Course of Studies

5. (1) The Course shall extend over one year of full-time study. The Board may allow students to extend their studies by up to one further year.

(2) The Course shall consist of the following components to which 60 ECTS credits are assigned:

(a) study-units to which 40 ECTS credits shall be assigned in the following areas of study:

Education Studies (including Educational Psychology, Philosophy of Education, Sociology of Education)
Pedagogy and Curriculum Studies
Resources and Information and Communication Technology in Education (RICTE)
Electives;

(b) 2 ECTS credits assigned to an examination paper in Pedagogy and Curriculum Studies;

(c) School Experience (4 ECTS credits) and Teaching Practice (8 ECTS credits); and

(d) Long Essay or Project (6 ECTS credits).

(3) The Board shall stipulate which subject in the Pedagogy and Curriculum Studies area of study and which study-units students shall take in order to complete the appropriate course programme. The study-units to be followed in each case shall be determined by the Board of Studies before the commencement of the Course.

School Experience

6. (1) Students shall be required to undertake three periods of School Experience throughout the Course in order to acquaint themselves with the world of the school and the classroom.

(2) The School Experience shall be assessed according to the grading scheme indicated in paragraph (2) of regulation 10.

Teaching Practice

7. (1) Students shall be required to undertake two six-week periods of Teaching Practice in secondary schools throughout the Course in order to gain experience in the classroom.

(2) The Teaching Practice shall be assessed on a Pass/Fail basis.

(3) The Board is to assign at least two additional examiners to each student. The main additional examiner is requested to present the assessment reports for the consideration of the Teaching Practice Board of Examiners. The Board of Examiners shall, in terms of the University Examinations Regulations, determine the procedure to be adopted for the conduct of the examinations and may conduct assessment visits to particular students as they deem fit.

Long Essay/Project

8. (1) Students shall be required to submit a Long Essay, which must have an educational problem or issue as its focus either in the area of Foundation Studies in Education or in Pedagogy and Curriculum Studies, or a Project deemed to be of equivalent academic standard by the Board of Studies. The Long Essay shall consist of not more than 8000 words (excluding appendices) or not less than 12000 words if co-authored.

(2) The Long Essay/Project shall be assessed according to the grading scheme given in paragraph (2) of regulation 10. Students may be required to attend for a viva voce examination.

Catalogue of Study-Units

9. The Board shall draw up a catalogue of study-units. The catalogue shall indicate the code, title, description and type of each study-unit, the credits assigned to each study-unit, which study-units are compulsory, concurrent or pre-requisites for other study-units, and the methods of teaching and assessment. The Board shall publish the catalogue for the Course prior to its commencement, following the approval of Senate.

Assessment

10. (1) Students shall satisfy the requirements for the award of the Certificate if they obtain:

(a) 40 ECTS credits for study-units in the areas of study indicated in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (2) of regulation 5, including those assigned to the compulsory study-units;

(b) 2 ECTS credits for an examination paper in the area of study indicated in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) of regulation 5;

(c) the 4 ECTS credits assigned to the School Experience and the 8 ECTS credits assigned to the Teaching Practice; and

(d) the 6 ECTS credits assigned to the Long Essay / Project.

(2) Results for the assessment of the taught study-units, the School Experience and the Long Essay / Project shall be published as a percentage mark and grade as indicated in the table below:

Mark Range  Grade

80% -100%        A
70% - 79%         B
55% - 69%         C
45% - 54%         D
0 - 44%              F

Both the percentage mark and the grade shall be recorded in the students' academic record. The marks awarded shall take into account the students' performance in one or more of the following elements, as deemed appropriate by the Board: coursework, and practical, written and/or oral assessments. (3) Students who fail in any study-unit shall be allowed a supplementary assessment once only. Supplementary assessments shall be made by arrangement with the lecturer concerned. In supplementary assessments, the maximum marks and grade that may be awarded shall be 45% - grade D.

(4) Students who fail in the School Experience or in the Teaching Practice shall be required to repeat them once only at the next available opportunity. Students who fail in the Long Essay / Project shall be required to re-submit it once only during an additional year of studies.

(5) Students who fail in any examination paper shall be allowed a supplementary examination once only. The supplementary examinations shall be held in September. In supplementary examinations, the maximum marks and grade that may be awarded shall be 45% - grade D.

(6) Students who fail the Course are not allowed to register a second time.

Award of Certificate

11. (1) Students who satisfy the assessment criteria as laid down in paragraph (1) of regulation 10 shall be eligible for the award of the Certificate.

(2) The names of successful students shall be published in a list in alphabetical order.

Repeal

12. The Postgraduate Certificate in Education ­ P.G.C.E. ­ Course Regulations, 2001, published as Legal Notice 279 of 2001, shall be deemed to cease to be in force as from the 30th September 2006, provided that students registered for this Course before the 1st October 2006 shall continue to be governed by the regulations that were in force at the time of their joining the Course.