Is it better to do a Bachelor of Education Degree (BEd) or do a subject degree and then a PGCE?

Question

- I want to become a UK primary school teacher.

Which one is better/gains more qualifications? Which one takes longer? Anyone who's done either out there?

Answer 1

Good advice from Answerer 1....I'm not from UK but in NZ we have a similar system....

For primary a general degree like (BEd) is needed.  I'm a primary teacher and you do need to be able to teach all the learning areas of the curriculum and not just one subject...of course we all have subjects that we are better at than others

If you want to teach secondary then you need a subject degree and Graduate Diploma....

Talk to a Career Advisor at the university to get info from the horse's mouth

Answer 2

i did a degree  and then a PGCE, it suited my career as a secondary school teacher. i had knowledge of my subject above the standard required to teach that subject at secondary school,  yet still have enough knowledge to stretch the more able pupils and give them an idea of what to expext from that subject at a higher level. as a primary school teacher i think it would be better to do a BEd as you need a broader range of knowledge on various subjects rather than a deeper knowledge of one subject.

hope this helps

Answer 3

I'm currently doing a BEd (I answered your other question, too)

They both take 4 years full time.

The BEd is 4 years full time.

A degree is usually 3 years full time and the PGCE takes 1 year, full time.

A BEd goes into slightly (hardly any) more detail. You get more experience as you spend more time covering certain things, however that does not mean a teacher is 'better' if they opt for the BEd.

A lot of people opt for the degree + PGCE (primary PGCE in your case.) The reason for this is that with the BEd, you cannot change career if you no longer want to be a teacher.

To do the BEd you have to be certain that being a teacher is something you REALLY want to do, if you qualify as a teacher with the BEd, then 10 years later realise you no longer want to be one, you have to go to university again and study a degree.

This is an advantage of the PGCE over the BEd, since with the PGCE you have to have a degree, you can use the degree to "fall back on" if you decide teaching is something you no longer want to do.

The reason I chose a BEd over a PGCE was the fact that teaching is something I have always wanted to do.

During school holidays I would volunteer at any children's events going on so I had pretty good experience.