UWA Handbook 2025

Extended Major Overview

Description

This course is for students wishing to qualify as primary school teachers and teach children aged 5 to 11 years (School grades Pre-Primary to Year 6). All students will graduate with an Honours degree, reflecting the demands of professional teachers who need to be knowledgeable, competent and confident decision-makers working in complex and demanding settings in contemporary classrooms and schools. The final year of the course will include an extended professional experience placement in a school, as well as a 24-Credit point Honours Project. The course will also provide all graduates with a recognised Primary Specialisation, as required for the accreditation of all primary education courses in Australia, and students will be offered a choice of specialisations. The specialisation and the honours component will equip graduates to be profession-ready, responsive and resilient teachers who are able to register as teachers in Western Australia, all other national jurisdictions, and global jurisdictions which recognise Australian initial teacher education qualifications.

Students should be aware that this major does not provide a pathway to an Honours.

Outcomes

Students are able to:

1. apply advanced curriculum and pedagogical knowledge to plan, implement and assess learning
2. demonstrate skills and dispositions as a resilient and collegial teaching professional
3. develop and apply evidence-informed responses to complex educational, pedagogical and professional problems
4. design inclusive, ethical and supportive learning environments
5. critically analyse and apply educational research and pedagogical knowledges and practices
6. identify characteristics of effective teaching professionals and knowledge of the teaching profession
7. apply knowledge and understanding of how to engage with internal and external stakeholders to advocate for the teaching profession.

Broadening guidelines

The major in the Bachelor of Education (Primary Honours) does not include the opportunity to complete broadening units outside the degree specific major.

All units in the course need to be completed by students (except for in the third year when students choose two units, from a set of Primary specialisations available in the course, to form their Primary specialisation). Both of these requirements derive directly from the requirements for the accreditation of initial teacher education programs in Australia.

Graduates of ITE programs must demonstrate that they have met each of the 37 Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at Graduate level, and every unit in the course must be mapped to these standards. Further, every graduate of a Primary initial teacher education course must have a specialisation in an area of the primary school curriculum or relevant to teaching in primary schools. The full requirements can be found here Teacher Registration Board of WA_ITE Program Standards for Accreditation

All Undergraduate ITE courses in Australia are 4 years' duration, in accordance with program accreditation requirements.

Corequisite

Enrolment in Bachelor of Education (Primary Education) (Honours)

Courses

Primary Education can only be taken as a degree-specific major in the following degree courses:

• BH020 Bachelor of Education (Primary) (Honours)
• BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)

Units