Postgraduate Certificate in Education - P.C.c.E. - Course Regulations, 2001

AL. 279 ta' 2001

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Postgraduate Certificate in Education - P.C.c.E. - Course Regulations, 2001

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 30 (5)

and 31 (6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the

University of Malta has promulgated the follo\ving Regulations made by

the Senate of the University of Malta by virtue of the powers conferred

upon it by sections 31 and 35 of the said Act

Citation and interpretation

(1) These regulations may be cited as the Postgraduate Certificate

],

in Education - P.G.C.E. - Course Regulations, 2001.

(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;

"tIlt' Cenificate"

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.

Applica bilit~

(1) Dawn ir-regolamenti jistghu jissejhu r-Regolamenti tas-sena

2001.tal-Kors ghall-Grad ta' Postgraduate Certificate in Education - P.C.C.£.

F'dawn ir-regolamenti, kemm-il darba r-rabta tal-kliem rna

(2)

reh tiegx xort' ohra -

"il-Bord" tfisser ii-Bard tal-Fakulta ta' I-Edukazzjoni;

"il-Bord ta' Studji" tfisser il-Bord ta' Studji mahtur mis-Senat

ghall-Kors;

"ic-Certifikat" tfisser iI-Postgraduate Certificate In Education -

P.G.C.E.; u

"ii-Kors" tfisser il-kors ta' I-istudji Ii jwassal ghall-Postgraduate

Certificate in Education - P.G.C.E.

L-Applikabilita'

These regulations shall applY to courses starting in October 2001 or

later.

Eli~ibility 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 regu]:1tion 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

k) satisfy any other requirements prescribed m any other relevant

statutes, regulations and bye-la'WS of the University.

Admission Requirements

Biex ikunu eligibbli ghall-ghoti tac-Certifikat, l-istudenti ghandhom

(a) ikunu rregistrati buala studenti regolari skond ir-Regolamenti

ghad-Dhul ta' l-Universita' u jissodisfaw ir-Rekwiziti ghad-Duul stipulati fir-

regolament 4;

(b) itemmu I-kors ta' I-istudji, jiksbu l-kredti kollha indikati

fparagrafu (1) tar-regolament lOu jissodisfaw ir-rekwiZiti kollha preskritti

['dawn ir-regolamenti; u

(c) jissodisfaw xi reb\liiiti oura preskritti fi statuti, f'regolamenti u

fordinamenti rilevanti ohm ta' l-Universita'.

Ir-Rekwiiiti gbad-Dhul

(1) Applicants shall apply to register for the Course on the

prescribed form and within tl1e time specified by the Office of the Registrar.

(2) 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.

(3) To be registered as regular students in the Course, applicants

ill ust be in possession of

(a) either an Honours degree, or an ordinary degree with at least

Category II, in both cases with at least 30 credits in the area of specialisation

chosen as the teaching area; and

(b) for courses commencing in October 2002 or later, the European

Computer Driving License; or

(c) other qualifications that the Board considers equivalent to those

required in sUb-paragraphs (a) and (b) of this regulation obtained from the

Cniversity, or from an institution recognised by the Senate for the purpose.

~~~--~-~-

(4) Applicant'i must also satisfy the Board that they have the

necessary aptitude and may be required to attend for an interview ror this

purpose.

(5) In addition to the qualifications required by paragraph (3) of

tl1is regulation, applicants choosing the foll0'ving areas of sp~cialisation 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 Studies: a minimum of 15 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 30

credits at first degree level in Computer Science Information Svstems and

Computer/Communications Engineering, which must include study-units in

the foll0'ving areas needed to teach the subject in secondary schools

Programming bevond an intmductorv level in Pascal, C or (C++) or Java,

Computer Logic, Computer Architecture ;md Assembly Language

Programming, Database Management Svsterns, Systems Analysis and Design,

Data Stnlctur~s and Algorithms, Compiling Techniques, and Operating

S\'5tt'ms;

minimum of 15 credits at

(c) for Personal and Social Education

first degree level in Psycholog\', and a minimum of 15 credits at first degree

kyt'l ill either Philosophy or Sociology or Social Ps\'chology or a combination

of any HW of thest' al'eas;

(d) ror Science: a minimum of 15 crt"'dits at first degree level in

each of two of U1e follmdng dreas of stud\': Biology, Chemistn', Physics, and

Mathematics;

for Social Studies

(t')

either (i) a first neg-ree with;:] Jllinimum of 30 credits in one of the following

areas of stud\': In ternational Relations, Public Policy, or Sociolog\';

or

(ii) a mmimum of 30 credits at first degree level or equi\'alent in two of

the follO\\illg C1reas of stud,,

.\nthropologY, Communication Studies,

Economics, History, Human Geography, Political Science, Social Philosophy

or Social Psychology or in any other area considered to be related by the

Board of Studies; and

for Technical Subjects: a first degree with a minimum of 30

(f)

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

(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

30 credits are assigned

(a)

study-units to which 15 credits shall be assigned in tile following

areas of study

Foundation

Studies

in

Education

(including

Educational

Psychology, Philosophy of Education, Sociology of Education,

and an Options Programme)

Pedagogy and Curriculum Studies

Resources and Information and Communication Technology in

Education (RICTE);

(b)

one credit each for four examination papers in

Educational

Psychology, Philosophy of Education, Sociology of Education, and Pedagogy

and Curriculum Studies;

(c) School Experience (2 credits) and Teaching Practice (5 credits);

and

(d) Long Essay or Project (4 credits).

(3) The Board shall stipulate which su~ject 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

(1) Students shall be required to undertake three periods of School

Experience throughout the Course in order to acquaint themselves \-vith 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 Pntctice

(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.

Long Essay/Project

(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 villa voce examination.

Catalogue of Study-Units

The Board shall draw up a catalogue of study-units. The catalogue

shall indicate the code, tide, description and type of each study-unit, the

credits assigned to each study-unit, which study-units are compulsory,

concurrent or pre-reqUlsItes 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

(l) Students shall satisfy the requirements for the award of the

Certificate if they obtain

(a) 14 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) 4 credits for four examination papers (one credit each) in the

areas of study indicated in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) of regulation

5;

(c) the 2 credits assigned to the School Experience and the 5 credits

assigned to the Teaching Practice; and

(d) the 4 credits assigned to the Long Essay / Project.

(2) Credits shall be assigned according to the follo\\>i.ng grades in

descending order of merit: A, B, C, and D. Failure shall be indicated by F.

Incomplete work due to justifiable reasons (illness, approved absence, etc.)

shall be indicated by 1. In all other cases the resuLts of uncompleted study-

units shall be indicated as F. The grades awarded shall take into account the

students' performance in one or more of the follmving 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 grade that rna\' be aw.uded shall be grade D.

(4) Students who fail in the School Experience or in the Teachinf

Practice shall be required to repeat them once only at the next available

oppmtunity. Students who fail in the Long Essay I Project shall be required

to re-submit it once only during an additional year of studies.

Students who fail in any examination paper shall be allowed a

(5)

supplementary examination once only. The supplementary examinations

shaH be held in September. In supplementary examinations, the maximum

grade that may be awarded shall be grade D.

(6)

Student5 who fail the Course are not allowed to register a

second time.

Award of Certificate

Students who satisfy the assessment criteria as laid down in

(1)

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

The Regulations for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education,

published as Legal Notice 111 of 1991, shall be deemed to cease to be in force

as from the 30th September 2001,

provided that students registered for this course before the 1st October 2001

shall continue to be governed by the regulations that were in force at the time

of their joining the course.