Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) Honours (BPMH) - BEd(Primary&MiddleSchooling)Hons

This program is offered only to continuing students. No new admissions will be accepted. Students who are interested in this study area should contact us.

Contact us

Current students

Telephone 1800 007 252 (within Australia freecall), +61 7 4631 2285 (from outside Australia), email usqassist@usq.edu.au or submit a question via USQAssist.

Program focus

The Faculty of Education regards the honours program as an alternative track for students who intend entering the teaching profession and who have the interest and ability to engage in high level, in-depth, independent research. The research activity involved in completing the BEd (Hons) serves to build on and enhance a range of inquiry and critical thinking capabilities fostered in the Bachelor of Education. Honours graduates are well placed to make a leadership contribution to the education profession.

Professional accreditation

Graduates of this program who meet the 'good character' and other requirements of the Board of Teacher Registration will be eligible for registration as a teacher in Queensland. Please note that the Board conducts a national criminal history check as a key element of its consideration of the suitability of all applicants for teacher registration.

Program aims

The Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) (Honours) is a four year full-time on-campus program designed to prepare students for employment in primary and the newly emerging middle school sector and to allow a pathway to further career development and provide an introduction to the principles and practices of educational research.

This program seeks to prepare graduates who:

• are reflective and ethical practitioners

• are innovators and navigators of change

• have a strong sense of self and place in the world

• are flexible and creative problem solvers

• are transformative intellectuals

• are socially just and empowering

• value diversity and inclusiveness

• are passionate learners and inspire learning in others

• are keen to accept responsibility, able to identify and optimise opportunities

• demonstrate a current pedagogical content knowledge base

• identify, enable and create opportunities for others to construct meaning and develop capacities to manage their own learning

• are engaged and collaborative members of a learning community

• are compassionate advocates for education and for their community.

Note: This level of award is required for teacher registration in Queensland. Applicants from other States or countries should check local requirements Before enrolling in this program.

Program objectives

The Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) (Honours) seeks to:

• provide education professionals with opportunities to develop a range of teaching and learning skills and theoretical foundations of successful practice, to enable them to design, implement and evaluate programs and practices across a range of teaching and learning environments accommodating a broad range of learner characteristics, with particular reference to the primary and middle years of schooling

• encourage commitment and motivation such that graduates are keen to engage in ongoing professional development and continuous improvement

• provide an introduction to the principles and practices of small-scale research

• enable successful graduates to obtain teacher registration in Queensland.

Admission requirements

Normal Entry (ONC-full-time)

Entry to the Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) Honours may be subject to availability of places. Selected students will be offered the opportunity of enrolling in an Honours program following the completion of the first three semesters of study in the Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) program. Students gaining a minimum GPA of 6.0 over the first three semesters will be considered for selection. Each year students will be invited to apply for the program, offers being determined on the basis of academic merit and the annual quota set for the Honours program.

Program fees

Student contribution amount

For domestic students who are offered Commonwealth supported places, the Government pays some money directly to the University, but students are also required to make a contribution. This contribution is called the ‘student contribution’. For more information about student contribution amounts, including the calculation of fees for a particular program of study, refer to USQ fees.

Tuition fee

Domestic fee-paying places are funded entirely through the tuition/direct fees paid by the student. Tuition/direct fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. For more information about Tuition Fees, including the calculation of fees for a particular program of study, refer to USQ Fees.

International fees

International students pay tuition fees. For details about international student fees, refer to the International Fee Schedule provided by USQ International.

Program structure

To be awarded a four year Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) (Honours), normally a student must have completed thirty-two units at undergraduate levels 1-4. At the discretion of the Program Coordinator, up to four courses may be completed at postgraduate level.

Areas of study

• Faculty Courses (FOE)

• Education and Primary Studies (EDU/PRI)

• Integrated Studies (PRT)

• Extended Studies (Majors, Minors, Electives)

Areas of study and related courses

A major of five courses will only be allowed when the focus of the Honours research and dissertation is in the same area as the major.

Students in the Honours program will be required to undertake the following developmental sequence of courses:

• FET8801 Research Methods in Education(1 unit)

• EDU4351 Supervised Project 1(1 unit)

• EDU5351 Supervised Project 2(2 units).

Courses EDU4351 and EDU5351 together constitute the Honours dissertation with a total word length of between 10,000-15,000 words.

Students enrolled in the Honours program will need to maintain a GPA of at least 4.0 to graduate with Honours. The level of Honours awarded will be determined by a weighting formula that accounts for performance across the four-year program as follows:

Note: Honours students who fail to meet the requirements of the above levels of award will be eligible for the award of the Pass Degree where they have passed all Honours courses and have satisfied the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) .

Entry into the Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Education requires First Class or Second Class Div A Honours.

Students who accept an invitation to enrol in the Honours program will need to complete a Direct Entry Form to change from their current enrolment in the Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling).

Required time limits

Students have a maximum of 9 years to complete this program.

Core courses

The Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) (Honours) is a 32-unit program made up of 30 core courses (including six 2 unit integrated courses, embedded professional experience, and honours courses), and two elective courses. Responsibility for meeting program requirements rests with individual students. Students should ensure that they adhere to the recommended enrolment patterns (included in the Handbook), appropriate to their intended areas of teaching.

Minor studies

A major of five courses will only be allowed when the focus of the Honours research and dissertation is in the same area as the major.Available Majors, Minors and Electives are outlined in the Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) program.

Practical experience

Requirements for Supervised Professional Experience (SE) in the Primary and Middle Schooling Program

Students enrolling in this program are required to undertake 100 days of embedded professional experience. At least 80 days must occur in an approved educational environment under direct supervision (SE). Professional experiences sometimes occur outside the usual University teaching weeks. Travel to settings outside the Toowoomba and Fraser Coast area may be necessary to complete the professional experience component of this program.

Requirements for Non-Supervised Experience (NSE) in the Primary and Middle Schooling Program

Students are required to undertake 20 days Non Supervised Experience (NSE). These non supervised experiences are intended to (i) expand students' understanding of the diverse contexts in which learning can take place; (ii) raise awareness of factors influencing the teaching-learning process; and (iii) provide opportunities for involvement in relevant educational, workplace or profession development activities. 10 days are connected to and form a part of courses PRI1142 Identity and Culture in Education and EDU1010 Introduction to Curriculum and Pedagogy. In the Honours Program, an additional 10 days of Non Supervised Experience (NSE) are connected to EDU5351 Supervised Project 2 .

Eligibility to Undertake Professional Experience in Queensland Educational Settings

Under the terms of the Commission for Children and Young People Act (Qld. 2000), students undertaking professional experience are considered to be volunteers engaged in regulated employment . As such, all students must apply to the Commission to be issued with a notice that they are suitable to work in child-related employment. As part of this application, the students must consent to the Commission conducting a criminal history check as the key element of the process of determining suitability. All applications for a suitability notice must be made at the local campus of the university at the commencement of their program. Students who do not make application, or who do apply but are subsequently deemed unsuitable, will not be able to undertake the professional experience components of the program.

Further information, including a list of serious offences which could lead to a students being deemed unsuitable, are available from the Commission's website at http://www.ccypcg.qld.gov.au/employment/

IT requirements

Students will be expected to have access to a computer with common productivity software (e.g. word processing, email, web browser).

Exit points

Students who are unable to complete the full 32 unit requirement of this program may, subject to Program Coordinator approval, be eligible to exit this program with the following qualifications. The relative number of professional education units and content units are detailed for each qualification. Students who wish to exit at these points must meet the requirements outlined in the following table.

Recommended enrolment pattern

It is strongly advised that students who enrol in the Honours program discuss enrolment details with the relevant Program Coordinator as early as possible to ensure an appropriate study pattern. Students in the Honours program follow the same pattern as for the Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle Schooling) program. The pattern below shows Honours courses studied in the spaces allocated to electives, the Internship and Internship-related courses in the undergraduate recommended enrolment pattern.

The following pattern over four calendar years of full-time study will ensure that all program requirements can be completed. Responsibility for meeting program requirements rests with individual students. Students should ensure that they adhere to the recommended enrolment patterns (included in the Handbook).