A liking for young people and a desire to help them develop both emotionally and educationally, combined with a good knowledge of the subject they are going to teach are the key requirements for a career in second-level teaching, according to John White of the ASTI. And he should know: not only is he a former teacher, but also deputy general secretary of the union which represents some 15,500 second-level teachers.
Teaching is not only a vocation, but a profession and one it can be hard to break into quickly on a permanent, pensionable basis. However, the provision of at least 1,500 more teaching jobs under the terms of the national pay agreement at primary and second-level improves the job prospects for students currently considering a career in teaching, although it's not clear how many will be at second level.
A primary degree, followed by a higher diploma in education, is the main route of entry into second-level teaching. For several years, the number of higher diploma places had been capped at 800 by the Higher Education Authority and demand for HDip places consistently exceeds the availability of places - often by five or six to one. However, in 1998 there was a slight increase in recipients when some 854 people gained a HDip, a 3.3 per cent increase on the 1997 level. But a primary degree and the HDip won't guarantee you a permanent pensionable job in the first year or years of your teaching life. Of the 605 holders of HDips who responded to the HEA's survey on graduate employment that year, only 6.1 per cent had obtained permanent teaching posts in Ireland, although this was an increase of 3 per cent on the 1997 figure. A further 51.4 per cent obtained part-time, temporary or substitute teaching posts (it was 56.2 per cent in 1997).
The other main route into second-level teaching is via a concurrent teaching degree. These degrees - which are offered in areas such as religion, music, PE, home economics, metal/engineering technology and wood/engineering technology - include teacher practice and the study of education in the primary degree, so there's no need for a higher diploma. You are a fully-qualified second-level teacher after you complete the primary degree. Most of these courses take a very small number of students each year, so job prospects are generally good, with the same caveat - you are more likely to be in temporary, rather than full-time, employment for your first few years of teaching.
Among primary degree graduates in education surveyed by the HEA in 1998, 23.9 per cent obtained permanent teaching posts in Ireland (22 per cent in 1997) and a further 65.8 obtained part-time, temporary or substitute teaching (68.9 per cent in 1997).
The Mater Dei Institute in Dublin provides a four-year degree in religious education and arts, awarded by St Patrick's College, Maynooth. About 60 students are taken on each year and study religion and English, history or music.
St Angela's College in Sligo offers a B Ed in home economics and biology and a B Ed in home economics and catechetics. The B Ed in home economics offered by St Catherine's, Sion Hill, is based in Sion Hill and TCD and students are full members of the university.
UL offers a BSc in PE with elective subjects - maths, Irish, English or geography - and job prospects for graduates are good. As well as achieving the required points, students must pass a movement ability test.
UL also offers a BSc (education) in biological science with chemistry or physics and there's a new BSc in physics and chemistry.
DCU offers a BSc degree in physics and chemistry; in the current year will take in between 28 and 30 students. The first year of the four-year course is a common science programme, with an introduction to teaching and some teaching practice. Other subjects include IT, maths and biology.
AND UCC is planning to introduce its first concurrent teaching degree, a BSc in physics and chemistry, in September. The proposal is still going through the approval process, so details are not available just yet.
The NCAD offers a four-year course leading to a BA in art and design education. It also offers a one-year, post-diploma or post-degree course leading to the diploma for art and design teachers, both of which are recognised for teaching at second level.
TCD, in association with the DIT College of Music and the Royal Irish Academy of Music, provides a four-year course leading to an honours degree in music education. Irish and European history is offered as a complementary subject.
