Certified teacher

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A certified teacher is a teacher who has earned credentials from an authoritative source, such as the government, a higher education institution or a private source. These certifications allow teachers to teach in schools which require authorization in general, as well as allowing educators to teach in particular content areas and across the curriculum. While many authorizing entities require student teaching before earning teacher certification, routes vary from country to country.

1 Australia
2 Canada
3 England and Wales
4 France
5 India
6 Scotland
7 United States
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Australia

The Australian education system is regulated on a State by State basis with each state having its own requirements for teacher registration (with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory where no such registration system currently exists). Publicly funded schools are primarily funded from the State level whereas private schools (including religious schools) are funded with Federal per student grants as well as smaller grants from State Governments and private fees. Private schools are free to hire teachers regardless of their level of qualification although in practice most teachers in Australia have a relevant tertiary qualification such as a graduate diploma, Bachelor's Degree or Masters Degree.

Currently there are moves on both sides of politics in Australia towards a National Curriculum which may or may not involve a national system of teacher registration.

[edit] Canada

Canadian teachers must receive certification from a provincial College of Teachers or the provincial department responsible for teacher certification in order to be able to teach in elementary and secondary schools. In Manitoba, for example, the responsibility for teacher certification lies with the Department of Education, Citizenship, and Youth - Professional Certification and Records Branch. Teachers need a Bachelor's degree in Education (B.Ed.), often on top of another recognized Bachelor's degree. This adds one or two more years to a university education. To earn a degree in secondary education, teachers must have a certain number of university credits in their subject field. This number varies from province to province, and in some provinces it varies from school to school. Most employers of teachers require that successful applicants complete criminal record checks, as well as verification that an employee is not listed in the Child Abuse Registry. These same requirements are, in addition to being a sound part of the hiring practice, a requirement of most provincial education legislation. Other requirements such as a tuberculosis test, and level of experience criteria may also be required. Many provinces require prospective teachers to obtain a criminal record check prior to hire.

In extreme circumstances, such as a lack of any suitable certifiable candidates for a specific teaching position, an employer may apply for temporary certification of a non-certified person. This temporary certification is usually valid for one calendar year after ministry approval, but must be requested by the school, not by a non-certified applicant for a teaching position.

[edit] England and Wales

Main article: Qualified Teacher Status

In England and Wales teachers in the maintained sector must have gained Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). There are many paths in which a person can work towards gaining their QTS, the most popular of which is to have completed a first degree (such as a BA or BSc) and then a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE). Other methods include a specific teaching degree or on-the-job training at a school. All qualified teachers in England must serve, after training, a statutory one year induction period that must be passed in order to remain a registered teacher. In Wales this period lasts for two years. During this period a teacher is known as an NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher). Schools are obliged to provide guidance, support and training to facilitate the NQT's success during this year. Local education authorities are also obliged to provide professional development opportunities.

Teachers in independent schools are not statutorily required to hold QTS, although independent schools increasingly prefer teachers to hold this qualification unless they have already gained significant teaching experience. The post-experience PGCE at the University of Buckingham is designed for independent school teachers. Some specialist independent schools, such as those following Montessori principles, require teachers trained in that specific educational philosophy.

The Teach First scheme, aimed at recent graduates, was introduced in 2003 in London and more recently in Manchester and it allows trainees to teach in schools without the Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE). After an intense period of training in the summer following graduation, trainees are placed in secondary schools. Following the successful completion of the first year, trainee teachers gain QTS status and may then continue teaching for a minimum of one year.

[edit] France

In France the teachers (professeurs) are mainly civil servants, recruited by competitive examination. The primary education teachers (professeurs des écoles) study at IUFM (University Institute for Formation of Teachers). The high school teachers must hold the CAPES (certificate for teaching in secondary education) or the agrégation. They are called professeur certifié or professeur agrégé, depending on the exam they pass. The postulants to these formations must have completed undergraduate studies (for IUFM and CAPES) or graduate studies (often an MA for the agrégation). Even the teachers in private schools must pass an exam (the CAFEP - certificate for teaching in private secondary education) and are civil servants. However, any holder of a licentiate (bachelor's degree equivalent) can teach on a non-permanent basis.

[edit] India

In India across various states there are different qualifications required to be a teacher. The government school generally recruit the teachers through competitive examination. There are degrees like BEd, DEd, TTC to professionally train the teachers. However, one may be appointed as teacher in a non government funded school even if one does not have these degrees. Apart from the state schools there are also schools run under the Central government. These schools strictly recruit based on the qualification alone. In situations where the government recruits people without qualifications, there are in service training done by DIETS. In the colleges, that is the post school education, however the qualification does not a teacher training degree, but remains to be national / state level examinations and qualifications decided by UGC.

[edit] Scotland

Main article: Teaching qualification

Teachers in Scotland must attain a teaching qualification, which is similar to Qualified Teacher Status in England and Wales, where they can then apply for registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland. All qualified teachers in Scotland must serve, after training, a statutory two year probationary period. Schools are again obliged to provide guidance, support and training to facilitate the NQT's success during this year. However this does not always happen as it should.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] United States

Normally, a bachelor's degree with a major in a certifiable area (English/language arts, fine arts, science, math, etc.) is a minimum requirement, along with rigorous coursework in pedagogical methods and practical field experiences as "student teachers." It is also required by all states that teachers pass standardized exams at the national and/or state levels both in the subjects they teach and the methods of teaching those subjects, and that they undergo constant evaluation by local, state, and sometimes even private organizations during their first years of teaching. Most states use graduated licensing programs (i.e., initial, Stage II, Rank I, professional, provisional, etc.). A license to teach in one state will usually facilitate the obtainment of a license in another state.

Until the 1960s, a person could not teach unless he or she had completed a year or more of specific teaching training at a normal school. In the past two decades, normal school courses have been made optional through the promotion of Alternate Route teacher certification. New Jersey was the first state to establish an Alternate Route program, doing so in 1984. Since then, most states have established their own programs.

Teachers in almost all states must have a Bachelor's degree with the appropriate teacher preparation course and complete either a content-based or teaching-based Master's degree within a stated number of years. Additionally, to be permanently certified, teachers must pass three state exams on pedagogy, general knowledge and knowledge of a content area. In order to work in a public school a candidate must be fingerprinted.

The annual rankings of U.S. News and World Report placed the following schools of education in the top ten of all graduate colleges of education in the United States. They follow in order of one through ten: Teachers College at Columbia University; Stanford University; Harvard University; Vanderbilt University; University of California at Los Angeles; University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; Northwestern University; University of California at Berkeley; University of Washington, and; University of Wisconsin at Madison.^[1]