Applications from Australian citizens and holders of permanent resident visas must be made via the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC).
International applicants must apply directly to the University of Western Sydney via UWS International.
Applicants who have undertaken studies overseas may have to provide proof of proficiency in English. Details of minimum English proficiency requirements and acceptable proof can be found on the Universities Admissions Centre website (UAC).
Overseas qualifications must be deemed by the Australian Education International - National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (AEI-NOOSR) to be equivalent to Australian qualifications in order to be considered by UAC and UWS.
Applicants must have successfully completed an undergraduate degree in any discipline with appropriate qualifications for primary teaching.
The appropriateness of the studies taken in the first degree must be consistent with the qualifications standards set by the NSW Institute of Teachers Subject Content Requirements for Teaching in a NSW Primary School.
GOVERNMENT POLICIES: Education employers have special staff requirements and policies that apply to intending students of education courses. At entry, this involves signing a Prohibited Employment Declaration.
Qualification for this award requires the successful completion of 120 credit points including the units listed in the recommended sequence below.
Recommended sequence
Accelerated Full-time mode (12 months)
Year 1
1H session
Module 1
Becoming a Teacher
This unit will be replaced by 101581 - Learning for Teaching from 1H, 2010. The insights, understandings, competencies and practical skills required of teachers are many and complex. This unit examines the theory and practice of teaching to begin each student's preparation for working within the community partnerships that the role requires. It investigates the art and the craft of teaching and the interactions between these personal and professional perspectives. Students will critically examine current teaching and learning practices and develop skills in implementing classroom strategies appropriate to primary school students' curriculum needs. They will use information technologies to personally document evidence of their developing philosophies and proficiencies.
Educational Psychology for Primary Teaching
This unit will be replaced by 101613 - Educational Psychology for Primary Teaching from 1H, 2010. This unit introduces students to a number of the key theoretical perspectives and issues in relation to Education Psychology for Primary Teaching. These include psychological and sociological theories and the implications for learning and pedagogies for social access. The unit operates as two strands and critically addresses public debates related to equity, inclusion and cultural diversity in the context of global change. The unit examines the social construction of childhood and theories of child development that shape our understandings of teaching. The frameworks developed in this unit will inform critical understandings and practices oriented towards inclusion and professional responsiveness.
Professional Practice I
As the first Professional Experience unit of the Master of Teaching (Primary) course, 'Professional Practice I' is designed to introduce all students to the philosophical, ethical, practical and pedagogical perspectives of becoming a teacher in contemporary educational settings. The unit requires students to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes necessary to begin teaching. As part of this process they will recognise that teaching demands a continuous process of self-reflection, self-awareness, critical evaluation of one's practice, and the capacity to modify and adjust teaching practice to best meet the needs of all students. This unit aims to facilitate the development of teacher education students as reflective practitioners who possess deeply-held commitments to quality education for students and high order communication competencies. Professional experience is a mandatory component of the Master of Teaching course. The preparation for, and evaluation of, the school-based experiences will be integral to this unit.
Module 2
English and Literacy in the K-6 Years
This unit will be replaced by 101579 Primary English and Literacy 1 from 1H, 2010. This unit is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to key concepts associated with the teaching of the English Key Learning Area in the K-6 years, set in the broader context of contemporary new literacy environments. It will examine the processes involved in the teaching of listening, speaking, reading and writing with a focus on the structure and grammar in a range of factual and literary multimodal texts.
Investigating Primary Mathematics
This unit will be replaced by 101580 - Primary Mathematics and Numeracy 1 from 1H, 2010. Mathematics is constructed by a thinking individual with the assistance and support of others. Some of these 'others' are called 'teachers'. In this unit, beginning teachers investigate how they can facilitate and support the learning of mathematics by students in the K-6 school years so that these students can show their full potential as mathematics learners. The unit will study the NSW K-6 Mathematics Syllabus in all of its strands, with a particular emphasis on working mathematically. A strong emphasis will be placed on investigation, exploration, problem solving and the use of technology in the development of mathematical ideas.
Primary Curriculum I: Creative Arts, HSIE, PDHPE, Science and Technology K-6
This unit will be replaced by 101583 - Primary Science & Technology from 1H, 2010. Primary teachers need understanding of the curriculum that they will be implementing. This unit provides opportunities for gaining familiarity with and developing initial knowledge and skills to implement the NSW K-6 syllabuses in the Creative Arts, Human Society and Its Environment, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, and Science and Technology key learning areas. Students will explore the theoretical underpinnings, content, and pedagogies for effective teaching of these key learning areas. Students will also explore the curriculum requirements of the mandatory Aboriginal Education Policy.
2H session
Module 3
Primary Curriculum II: Creative Arts, HSIE, PDHPE, Science and Technology
This unit will be replaced by 101585 - Primary Creative Arts from 2H, 2010. This unit extends on Primary Curriculum 1 and students' curriculum experiences in schools. Students explore the content and pedagogies of Creative Arts, Human Society and Its Environment, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, and Science and Technology key learning areas in more depth. Students explore features of quality teaching and student engagement in each of these areas.
Curriculum in Practice
This unit will be replaced by 101576 - Primary Personal Development Health & Physical Education (PDHPE) from 2010. Primary teachers need in-depth understanding of the curriculum that they will be implementing. This unit provides on-site learning opportunities in which student teachers explore a key learning area in depth. Students work in a collaborative relationship involving an educational community and the university to develop and implement a project that strengthens their understanding of a key learning area and benefits the context in which they worked.
Professional Practice II: Engaging in the Profession
Students need to have a variety of experiences that are set in the context of their future profession. Through these experiences students will be prepared by exploring issues involved in understanding the needs of learners within specific school and classroom contexts, and then supporting them in designing and teaching experiences to cater for these learners in a way that will enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. This unit also gives students opportunity to reflect on the processes involved, and refine their competencies as beginning teachers. The unit includes a final practicum experience that will show the interrelationship between theory and practice as well as enabling students to construct new knowledge and new ways of practice as part of their transition into the teaching profession.
Module 4
Communities and Primary Schools
This unit will be replaced by 101578 - Education, Knowledge, Society and Change from 1H, 2010. This unit is designed to build on students' sociological understandings of primary schooling. The unit builds on experiential, theoretical and curriculum knowledge developed in the course. Primary schools have a long tradition of working with communities at the 'chalkface' of social change. Such relationships are complex, evolving and spatially/temporally different because of a local/global sense of place and the socio-political context. Possibilities for promoting socially just practices for different communities are therefore contingent upon a range of strategies for inclusion. This unit examines theoretical frameworks that can assist in understanding the complexities of these processes.
Inclusive Teaching for Effective Learning
Effective and inclusive teaching requires knowledge of how students learn as well as proficiency in applying appropriately tailored teaching strategies to cater for individual developmental needs. This unit provides a foundation of knowledge and practice that facilitates development of appropriate and inclusive attitudes and skills for teaching students with special needs in the main stream. In particular the capacity to structure individualised education and behaviour management programs will be developed drawing on practical experiences and a broad familiarity with the field.
New Knowledge, New Learning
This unit will be replaced by 101587 - Teaching in New Times from 2H, 2010. This unit aims to directly challenge students to inquire into, reflect upon and subsequently develop classroom pedagogies and assessment practices that work towards socially just learning outcomes in new times and new teaching environments. It introduces students to contemporary theories and practical frameworks that open up opportunities for them to take individual responsibility for translating syllabus documents into teaching and learning experiences that encourage learners of all social and cultural backgrounds to have engaging and productive relationships with education, schools and classrooms.
Full-time (18 Months)
Year 1
1H session
Module 1
Educational Psychology for Primary Teaching
This unit will be replaced by 101613 - Educational Psychology for Primary Teaching from 1H, 2010. This unit introduces students to a number of the key theoretical perspectives and issues in relation to Education Psychology for Primary Teaching. These include psychological and sociological theories and the implications for learning and pedagogies for social access. The unit operates as two strands and critically addresses public debates related to equity, inclusion and cultural diversity in the context of global change. The unit examines the social construction of childhood and theories of child development that shape our understandings of teaching. The frameworks developed in this unit will inform critical understandings and practices oriented towards inclusion and professional responsiveness.
Module 2
English and Literacy in the K-6 Years
This unit will be replaced by 101579 Primary English and Literacy 1 from 1H, 2010. This unit is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to key concepts associated with the teaching of the English Key Learning Area in the K-6 years, set in the broader context of contemporary new literacy environments. It will examine the processes involved in the teaching of listening, speaking, reading and writing with a focus on the structure and grammar in a range of factual and literary multimodal texts.
Investigating Primary Mathematics
This unit will be replaced by 101580 - Primary Mathematics and Numeracy 1 from 1H, 2010. Mathematics is constructed by a thinking individual with the assistance and support of others. Some of these 'others' are called 'teachers'. In this unit, beginning teachers investigate how they can facilitate and support the learning of mathematics by students in the K-6 school years so that these students can show their full potential as mathematics learners. The unit will study the NSW K-6 Mathematics Syllabus in all of its strands, with a particular emphasis on working mathematically. A strong emphasis will be placed on investigation, exploration, problem solving and the use of technology in the development of mathematical ideas.
Primary Curriculum I: Creative Arts, HSIE, PDHPE, Science and Technology K-6
This unit will be replaced by 101583 - Primary Science & Technology from 1H, 2010. Primary teachers need understanding of the curriculum that they will be implementing. This unit provides opportunities for gaining familiarity with and developing initial knowledge and skills to implement the NSW K-6 syllabuses in the Creative Arts, Human Society and Its Environment, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, and Science and Technology key learning areas. Students will explore the theoretical underpinnings, content, and pedagogies for effective teaching of these key learning areas. Students will also explore the curriculum requirements of the mandatory Aboriginal Education Policy.
2H session
Module 1
Professional Practice I
As the first Professional Experience unit of the Master of Teaching (Primary) course, 'Professional Practice I' is designed to introduce all students to the philosophical, ethical, practical and pedagogical perspectives of becoming a teacher in contemporary educational settings. The unit requires students to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes necessary to begin teaching. As part of this process they will recognise that teaching demands a continuous process of self-reflection, self-awareness, critical evaluation of one's practice, and the capacity to modify and adjust teaching practice to best meet the needs of all students. This unit aims to facilitate the development of teacher education students as reflective practitioners who possess deeply-held commitments to quality education for students and high order communication competencies. Professional experience is a mandatory component of the Master of Teaching course. The preparation for, and evaluation of, the school-based experiences will be integral to this unit.
Becoming a Teacher
This unit will be replaced by 101581 - Learning for Teaching from 1H, 2010. The insights, understandings, competencies and practical skills required of teachers are many and complex. This unit examines the theory and practice of teaching to begin each student's preparation for working within the community partnerships that the role requires. It investigates the art and the craft of teaching and the interactions between these personal and professional perspectives. Students will critically examine current teaching and learning practices and develop skills in implementing classroom strategies appropriate to primary school students' curriculum needs. They will use information technologies to personally document evidence of their developing philosophies and proficiencies.
Module 3
Primary Curriculum II: Creative Arts, HSIE, PDHPE, Science and Technology
This unit will be replaced by 101585 - Primary Creative Arts from 2H, 2010. This unit extends on Primary Curriculum 1 and students' curriculum experiences in schools. Students explore the content and pedagogies of Creative Arts, Human Society and Its Environment, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, and Science and Technology key learning areas in more depth. Students explore features of quality teaching and student engagement in each of these areas.
Curriculum in Practice
This unit will be replaced by 101576 - Primary Personal Development Health & Physical Education (PDHPE) from 2010. Primary teachers need in-depth understanding of the curriculum that they will be implementing. This unit provides on-site learning opportunities in which student teachers explore a key learning area in depth. Students work in a collaborative relationship involving an educational community and the university to develop and implement a project that strengthens their understanding of a key learning area and benefits the context in which they worked.
Year 2
1H session
Module 3
Professional Practice II: Engaging in the Profession
Students need to have a variety of experiences that are set in the context of their future profession. Through these experiences students will be prepared by exploring issues involved in understanding the needs of learners within specific school and classroom contexts, and then supporting them in designing and teaching experiences to cater for these learners in a way that will enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. This unit also gives students opportunity to reflect on the processes involved, and refine their competencies as beginning teachers. The unit includes a final practicum experience that will show the interrelationship between theory and practice as well as enabling students to construct new knowledge and new ways of practice as part of their transition into the teaching profession.
Module 4
Communities and Primary Schools
This unit will be replaced by 101578 - Education, Knowledge, Society and Change from 1H, 2010. This unit is designed to build on students' sociological understandings of primary schooling. The unit builds on experiential, theoretical and curriculum knowledge developed in the course. Primary schools have a long tradition of working with communities at the 'chalkface' of social change. Such relationships are complex, evolving and spatially/temporally different because of a local/global sense of place and the socio-political context. Possibilities for promoting socially just practices for different communities are therefore contingent upon a range of strategies for inclusion. This unit examines theoretical frameworks that can assist in understanding the complexities of these processes.
Inclusive Teaching for Effective Learning
Effective and inclusive teaching requires knowledge of how students learn as well as proficiency in applying appropriately tailored teaching strategies to cater for individual developmental needs. This unit provides a foundation of knowledge and practice that facilitates development of appropriate and inclusive attitudes and skills for teaching students with special needs in the main stream. In particular the capacity to structure individualised education and behaviour management programs will be developed drawing on practical experiences and a broad familiarity with the field.
New Knowledge, New Learning
This unit will be replaced by 101587 - Teaching in New Times from 2H, 2010. This unit aims to directly challenge students to inquire into, reflect upon and subsequently develop classroom pedagogies and assessment practices that work towards socially just learning outcomes in new times and new teaching environments. It introduces students to contemporary theories and practical frameworks that open up opportunities for them to take individual responsibility for translating syllabus documents into teaching and learning experiences that encourage learners of all social and cultural backgrounds to have engaging and productive relationships with education, schools and classrooms.
Part-time (24 months)
Year 1
1H session
Module 2
English and Literacy in the K-6 Years
This unit will be replaced by 101579 Primary English and Literacy 1 from 1H, 2010. This unit is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to key concepts associated with the teaching of the English Key Learning Area in the K-6 years, set in the broader context of contemporary new literacy environments. It will examine the processes involved in the teaching of listening, speaking, reading and writing with a focus on the structure and grammar in a range of factual and literary multimodal texts.
Investigating Primary Mathematics
This unit will be replaced by 101580 - Primary Mathematics and Numeracy 1 from 1H, 2010. Mathematics is constructed by a thinking individual with the assistance and support of others. Some of these 'others' are called 'teachers'. In this unit, beginning teachers investigate how they can facilitate and support the learning of mathematics by students in the K-6 school years so that these students can show their full potential as mathematics learners. The unit will study the NSW K-6 Mathematics Syllabus in all of its strands, with a particular emphasis on working mathematically. A strong emphasis will be placed on investigation, exploration, problem solving and the use of technology in the development of mathematical ideas.
Primary Curriculum I: Creative Arts, HSIE, PDHPE, Science and Technology K-6
This unit will be replaced by 101583 - Primary Science & Technology from 1H, 2010. Primary teachers need understanding of the curriculum that they will be implementing. This unit provides opportunities for gaining familiarity with and developing initial knowledge and skills to implement the NSW K-6 syllabuses in the Creative Arts, Human Society and Its Environment, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, and Science and Technology key learning areas. Students will explore the theoretical underpinnings, content, and pedagogies for effective teaching of these key learning areas. Students will also explore the curriculum requirements of the mandatory Aboriginal Education Policy.
2H session
Module 1
Becoming a Teacher
This unit will be replaced by 101581 - Learning for Teaching from 1H, 2010. The insights, understandings, competencies and practical skills required of teachers are many and complex. This unit examines the theory and practice of teaching to begin each student's preparation for working within the community partnerships that the role requires. It investigates the art and the craft of teaching and the interactions between these personal and professional perspectives. Students will critically examine current teaching and learning practices and develop skills in implementing classroom strategies appropriate to primary school students' curriculum needs. They will use information technologies to personally document evidence of their developing philosophies and proficiencies.
Educational Psychology for Primary Teaching
This unit will be replaced by 101613 - Educational Psychology for Primary Teaching from 1H, 2010. This unit introduces students to a number of the key theoretical perspectives and issues in relation to Education Psychology for Primary Teaching. These include psychological and sociological theories and the implications for learning and pedagogies for social access. The unit operates as two strands and critically addresses public debates related to equity, inclusion and cultural diversity in the context of global change. The unit examines the social construction of childhood and theories of child development that shape our understandings of teaching. The frameworks developed in this unit will inform critical understandings and practices oriented towards inclusion and professional responsiveness.
Professional Practice I
As the first Professional Experience unit of the Master of Teaching (Primary) course, 'Professional Practice I' is designed to introduce all students to the philosophical, ethical, practical and pedagogical perspectives of becoming a teacher in contemporary educational settings. The unit requires students to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes necessary to begin teaching. As part of this process they will recognise that teaching demands a continuous process of self-reflection, self-awareness, critical evaluation of one's practice, and the capacity to modify and adjust teaching practice to best meet the needs of all students. This unit aims to facilitate the development of teacher education students as reflective practitioners who possess deeply-held commitments to quality education for students and high order communication competencies. Professional experience is a mandatory component of the Master of Teaching course. The preparation for, and evaluation of, the school-based experiences will be integral to this unit.
Year 2
1H session
Module 3
Primary Curriculum II: Creative Arts, HSIE, PDHPE, Science and Technology
This unit will be replaced by 101585 - Primary Creative Arts from 2H, 2010. This unit extends on Primary Curriculum 1 and students' curriculum experiences in schools. Students explore the content and pedagogies of Creative Arts, Human Society and Its Environment, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, and Science and Technology key learning areas in more depth. Students explore features of quality teaching and student engagement in each of these areas.
Curriculum in Practice
This unit will be replaced by 101576 - Primary Personal Development Health & Physical Education (PDHPE) from 2010. Primary teachers need in-depth understanding of the curriculum that they will be implementing. This unit provides on-site learning opportunities in which student teachers explore a key learning area in depth. Students work in a collaborative relationship involving an educational community and the university to develop and implement a project that strengthens their understanding of a key learning area and benefits the context in which they worked.
Professional Practice II: Engaging in the Profession
Students need to have a variety of experiences that are set in the context of their future profession. Through these experiences students will be prepared by exploring issues involved in understanding the needs of learners within specific school and classroom contexts, and then supporting them in designing and teaching experiences to cater for these learners in a way that will enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. This unit also gives students opportunity to reflect on the processes involved, and refine their competencies as beginning teachers. The unit includes a final practicum experience that will show the interrelationship between theory and practice as well as enabling students to construct new knowledge and new ways of practice as part of their transition into the teaching profession.
2H session
Module 4
Communities and Primary Schools
This unit will be replaced by 101578 - Education, Knowledge, Society and Change from 1H, 2010. This unit is designed to build on students' sociological understandings of primary schooling. The unit builds on experiential, theoretical and curriculum knowledge developed in the course. Primary schools have a long tradition of working with communities at the 'chalkface' of social change. Such relationships are complex, evolving and spatially/temporally different because of a local/global sense of place and the socio-political context. Possibilities for promoting socially just practices for different communities are therefore contingent upon a range of strategies for inclusion. This unit examines theoretical frameworks that can assist in understanding the complexities of these processes.
Inclusive Teaching for Effective Learning
Effective and inclusive teaching requires knowledge of how students learn as well as proficiency in applying appropriately tailored teaching strategies to cater for individual developmental needs. This unit provides a foundation of knowledge and practice that facilitates development of appropriate and inclusive attitudes and skills for teaching students with special needs in the main stream. In particular the capacity to structure individualised education and behaviour management programs will be developed drawing on practical experiences and a broad familiarity with the field.
New Knowledge, New Learning
This unit will be replaced by 101587 - Teaching in New Times from 2H, 2010. This unit aims to directly challenge students to inquire into, reflect upon and subsequently develop classroom pedagogies and assessment practices that work towards socially just learning outcomes in new times and new teaching environments. It introduces students to contemporary theories and practical frameworks that open up opportunities for them to take individual responsibility for translating syllabus documents into teaching and learning experiences that encourage learners of all social and cultural backgrounds to have engaging and productive relationships with education, schools and classrooms.