The next four to five years is a time to shine in the education and teaching industry. A report by the Australian Council for Educational Research shows a promising outlook for employment growth over the coming years, with a spike in demand for secondary teachers expected from 2018 due to a large number of high-school teachers reaching retirement and a growing population of school students.
For existing educators, this means there is a window of opportunity to flourish, as the demand for quality teachers with recognizable and up-to-date skills rises.
To maximise the opportunity, considering current and evolving employment trends in the field, a Master of Education can help you to stand out from the crowd.
As career experts highlight, a key emerging trend is the rising number of professionals in the sector with postgraduate qualifications[2].
Employers are increasingly seeking highly qualified teachers with up-to-date expertise across current pedagogical practices that can bring a deeper level of skills to schools.
Recognising this demand, and building on a highly successful undergraduate program, one of Australia’s leading universities, Curtin University, which was recently named a rising star in higher education, in partnership with Open Universities Australia (OUA) launched the Master of Education to help those looking to enhance their skillset and take their career to the next level.
Head of the School of Education at Curtin University, Lina Pellicone, explains that the new Master of Education degree provides an opportunity for qualified teachers practicing in a range of Educational contexts to enhance their pedagogical and theoretical knowledge and expertise, and to develop some specialized knowledge in an area of choice.
“The new Master of Education is a relevant and valuable pathway for educational leaders in many fields to develop their skills further and enhance their opportunities for employment or promotion,” she says.
“The degree offers students an essential foundation in Educational Research approaches and the online course will allow students to choose pathways that focus on the important educational areas of STEM Education, Advanced Pedagogies, Language, Literacy and Applied Linguistics.”
Associate Professor Pellicone points out that these pathways have been developed by experts in each field and will provide students with expertise in areas of great current interest and demand.
CEO of OUA, Paul Wappett, highlights that the flexibility of the Master of Education course online enables busy educators to continue exploring their passion at a deeper level whilst working and also puts students in the best position to take advantage of career advancement opportunities.
“Through OUA, students can study this one-year equivalent course online, giving them the ability to continue working in the field to gain more experience and attain their postgraduate degree at the same time – the ideal combination in the eyes of employers,” he explains.
In addition, students that complete the course online have the opportunity to fast track their degree enrolment by enrolling in time for study period four*, which runs from November 28th to March 10th, meaning there’s no need to wait until next year to get started.
The exciting new postgraduate program offers teaching professionals a way to gain a competitive edge and develop a deeper skillset that includes knowledge across the latest cutting edge approaches to teaching and critical independent thinking.
In addition, students who complete postgraduate qualifications not only open themselves up to more professional and lucrative advancement opportunities, but are also able to open doors to potential global employment prospects.
The new Master of Education offers students the chance to explore subjects such as International Trends in Education, the Foundations of Educational Research and Negotiated Research Projects, as well as electives such as the Educational Applications of Digital Technologies and Sustainable Education.
Upon completion of the new Master of Education, students are well placed to seek further studies in Educational Research and can apply to enter doctoral programs.
For students looking to enter the teaching profession after successfully completing an undergraduate degree in another discipline, Curtin University and OUA will also be launching a Master of Teaching in 2017.
For more information on the newly launched Master of Education click here.
Students who hold a four-year teacher education degree or equivalent are eligible to apply for the Master of Education.
*Enrolments for study period 4 close on November 13th, 2016.