Course overview
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education is a unique modular and flexible programme designed to reflect the needs of individuals or organisational cohorts. While each module has its own particular focus, all are concerned with investigating contemporary educational issues in the light of economic and social contexts, appropriate literature and the shared experience of course members.
The overall purpose of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education is to deepen and refine your capacity for critical reflection on your practice as well as on the mental models which inform your work. Systematic inquiry is therefore an organising principle that underpins all modules on the programme, and you will be encouraged to identify issues that are significant to you and your organisation.
Note: Please note that the Postgraduate Certificate in Education is an academic qualification, not a teaching qualification, and therefore does not offer Qualified Teacher Status in the UK.
Course structure
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education requires candidates to complete taught modules with a total value of 60 credits, including the 30-credit core module i.e., Practice Based Inquiry. This is the only compulsory module. Starting from September 2024, Critical Perspective in Curriculum and Pedagogy will become a core module.
For the remainder of the credits, you can choose from any of the School of Education’s other postgraduate taught modules, including any Special and Inclusive Education (SIE) module and any TESOL module. Starting from September 2024, the Postgraduate Certificate in Education will consist of only two core modules.
Each 30-credit module is assessed by a written assignment of 6,000 words (or equivalent).
To complete the programme successfully, a pass of 50 must be achieved on each assignment.
Career opportunities
This course can aid the development of educational careers across a range of institutions. It offers insights into key educational issues that are useful to leaders, managers, teachers and others with an interest in education. It offers broader insights than our other MA programmes, and allows students to tailor their studies to their own specific professional needs.
FAQ
What is the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)?
This is a specialised professional qualification for individuals who want to pursue a teaching career. Those who undertake this course will develop a solid foundation in teaching theory and practice. They will be well-equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to become effective educators.
How long is the PGCE Malaysia programme?
At UNM, this course can be completed within 1 to 2 years for full-time students, while part-time students usually take 2 to 4 years.
What subjects or specialisations are available within the PGCE programme?
Students can choose to focus on a specific area of teaching expertise in this programme. Common subject specialisations are primary, secondary, early childhood, and special needs education.
What is QTS?
QTS stands for ‘qualified teacher status.’
How can I get QTS in Malaysia?
One of the ways to get a qualified teacher status in Malaysia is through successfully completing the PGCE Malaysia programme.
Is the PGCE programme internationally recognised?
The recognition of this programme varies across countries and educational systems. However, UNM ensures that its PGCE programme meets international standards and provides a strong foundation for teaching careers worldwide. Nonetheless, it is advisable to research the specific recognition and accreditation needed in the countries you’re interested to teach in.
Can I pursue the PGCE Malaysia programme part-time?
Yes, UNM offers a part-time solution to accommodate students with other commitments.
Will I be eligible for financial support if I enrol in UNM’s PCGE programme?
How many years does it take to become a teacher in Malaysia?
It usually takes about 5 years to become a certified secondary school teacher in Malaysia - 1 year for a preparatory course and 4 years for your degree in education.
How much is a teacher’s salary in Malaysia?
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
A relevant second class honours degree (or international equivalent). Relevant experience may be required for some of the modules. Non-UK qualifications will be assessed against this standard.
Malaysians applying as a matured student without the standard entry requirements but with substantial and relevant work experience (and have successfully passed APEL’s assessment through Malaysian Qualifications Agency) may be considered for an entry at the Postgraduate Certificate Level. Admission is at the discretion of the School.
Applicants must have graduated from an approved university. Other equivalent qualifications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Entry requirements in the prospectus and website may not always apply and individual offers may vary.
English language requirements
IELTS (Academic): 6.5 (with no less than 6.0 in each element)
TOEFL (iBT): 87 (minimum 20 in speaking and 19 in all other elements)
PTE (Academic): 71 (with no less than 65 in each element)
MUET: Band 4
IELTS, TOEFL and PTE (Academic) test results must be less than two years old and all IELTS must be the academic version of the test. MUET results are valid for five years from the date of the release of results.
Modules
Typical core module
Practice Based Inquiry
The content will involve you in active critical consideration of participating in and leadership of practitioner inquiry in relation to professional context mapping and workplace learning.
These processes will be achieved through:
- Conceptualising different kinds of practitioner inquiry relevant to work-based understanding and development (purposes, processes, contexts, dilemmas, outcomes).
- Examining a range of approaches to educational inquiry, with an emphasis on action research.
- Developing an inquiry into your professional context.
Typical elective modules
Critical Perspective in Curriculum and Pedagogy
This module critically examines contemporary debates surrounding orthodoxies in curriculum, learning and assessment in schools, and how these relate to policy and practice.
In particular it considers the way different orthodoxies frame what children and young people learn in schools, how they learn and how assessment practices inform learning processes. The module will explore these orthodoxies in terms of their origins and purposes and it will consider alternative models from an international perspective.
The module starts by considering the history, politics and ideology of the curriculum as it currently exists. It then develops understanding through application of psychological, social and cultural theories of learning and assessment. These theorised views of schooling and classroom practices enable us to analyse and critique the wide-ranging policy and research discussions about curriculum, learning and assessment that are currently under way.
You will be engaged in considering how developments of, and alternatives to, current practices will impact learning and teaching in the future.
Starting from September 2024, this module will become a core module.
Social Contexts of Learning
This module focuses on how people learn together in pairs, teams, small groups, the classroom, or an informal community. It works through classical and modern theories of social learning, explaining the social aspects of almost any type of learning and mechanisms that boost the power of learning together.
Equipped with these theories, it explores the various technologies mediating and supporting social learning, such as social media, participation in the World Wide Web, online communities, online communication platforms and virtual reality.
Leading Learning
The module will address the essential features of effective learning, as relevant to your sector by examining:
- The process of learning.
- Supporting learning (for example, through adults, peers and technology) both within and beyond the educational organisation.
- An overview of approaches to improvement and raising achievement in educational organisations.
- Monitoring and evaluation of learning: the use of data, target-setting, monitoring.
Meet the tutor
Programme coordinator: Dr Chai Xun Yu