Program

Fine Arts / Education (Sec) - 4059

Program Summary

Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Contact: Dr Paul Evans

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Typical Duration: 4 Years  

Typical UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC Per Semester: 6

Max UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC For Award: 192

UAC Code: 422140

Domestic Entry Requirements: See Domestic Entry Requirements

International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements

Award(s):

Bachelor of Education (Secondary)

Bachelor of Fine Arts

View program information for previous years

Program Description

The Dual degree program, Bachelor of Fine Arts Bachelor of Education (Secondary) (BFA BEd) is a four-year program (192 UOC) for intending secondary school teachers. The program is a nationally accredited pre-service qualification.

The program enables students to pursue a teaching specialisation in Visual Arts, with the option of a second teaching specialisation in Graphics and Multimedia Technology. The program covers both theoretical and practical aspects of education, including 80 days supervised professional experience in at least two different secondary schools.

Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes

The BFA program aims to:
  1. Provide an opportunity for students to undertake rigorous and demanding studies at tertiary level from a wide range of approaches and disciplines within the visual arts.
  2. Provide the opportunity for students to explore the visual arts through a critical examination of the possibilities they offer and by use of available technological resources.
  3. Encourage students to develop increased self-motivation as developing independent and professional practitioners.
  4. Provide students with:
    • an understanding of concepts relevant to aesthetics and the visual arts;
    • understanding of various media through practice and experimentation with such media;
    • an understanding of research practice in fine arts, and a capacity to engage with research;
    • a confidence and competence in decision making, together with an appreciative and informed awareness of viewpoints in the visual arts other than their own; and
    • an understanding of the historical and theoretical underpinning of contemporary fine art practice.
  5. Encourage students to realise their own intellectual and creative potential.
  6. Increase students' awareness of, and sensitivity to, their environment.

Program Learning Outcomes

You should achieve the following Program Learning Outcomes upon successful completion of the Bachelor of Education (Secondary):
  1. Know students and how they learn
  2. Know the content and how to teach it
  3. Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
  4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
  5. Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
  6. Engage in professional learning
  7. Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community

Requirements for the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) in Dual Mode

Program Structure

The basic requirements for the BEd in Dual mode (96 UOC) are:
  1. Education Core (66 UOC)
  2. Prescribed Education method electives (24 UOC)
  3. Prescribed Education elective (6 UOC)

Core

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Professional Experience

EDST2002, EDST6760 and EDST6765 provide students with a total of 80 days of professional experience in secondary schools and other educational settings.

Prescribed Education Methods

Students complete two courses in Visual Arts Method (12 UOC) and two courses in either Extension Visual Arts Method or Graphics and Multimedia Technology Method (12 UOC).

The teaching specialisation requirements are summarised below:
 
Teaching Specialisation
Prerequisites
Visual Arts (single method)
24 UOC at Level 2 and above in Ceramics, Jewellery, Object Design, Spatial Design, Drawing, Painting, Photograph, Printmaking, Textiles  or Cross-Media Arts
Extension Visual Arts (double method)
24 UOC at Level 2 and above in Ceramics, Jewellery, Object Design, Spatial Design, Drawing, Painting, Photograph, Printmaking, Textiles  or Cross-Media Arts
Graphics and Multimedia Technology (single method)
24 UOC at Level 2 and above in Graphics Media or Media Arts

Prescribed Education Electives

A Prescribed Education Elective is any course chosen by the student from the offerings of the School of Education.

English Proficiency

Proficiency in English is essential in all Education courses.

It is expected that all applicants will have a Higher School Certificate minimum Band 5 in Standard English, English as a Second Language or Advanced English, or an overall IELTS score of 7.5, with a minimum of 8.0 in Speaking and Listening and a minimum of 7.0 in Reading and Writing, or the equivalent.

Participation and Enrolment Requirements

For accreditation as a teacher in NSW, all teacher education students will need to meet the following participation and enrolment requirements set by the NSW Educations Standards Authority (NESA).

Assessment of Suitability for Teaching

It is a NESA requirement that all UNSW Bachelor of Education students successfully complete a full year (48 UOC) of studies in their specific disciplinary content area (e.g., Maths, Science, Economics, Arts, etc.) before undertaking any discipline-specific curriculum and pedagogic studies (Methods) or professional experience placements in schools. At the end of their first semester they must also complete a motivational statement as to why they want to be a teacher, which is scored on a 2-point scale: No – incoherent, irrelevant, or inappropriate reasons, or Yes - coherent and valid reason. If students score ‘No’, they will be counselled out of the program.

In addition, before their first supervised professional experience placement, all teacher education students must successfully complete:

  1. The National Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education.
  2. The Classroom Readiness Questionnaire. The Classroom Readiness Questionnaire is a pre-professional experience self-assessment tool that requires students to provide evidence of success across six areas (subject content, inherent requirements, professional language/literacy/numeracy, oral communication, classroom management, and commitment to the profession). Their self-assessments are then endorsed (or not) by at least two staff members who teach them.
  3. A situational judgement test. This test is a scenario-based measurement tool designed to assess individuals’ judgement in a contextualised workplace setting. This test evaluates a number of key non-academic capabilities deemed necessary for teaching (e.g., adaptability, empathy).
We also undertake extensive evaluation of teacher suitability for their specific teaching areas. We do this via: (a) including a compulsory microteaching assessment in Methods courses, (b) using direct observation of all professional experience placements, including the first semester placement as a teaching assistant, (c) multiple critical assessment tasks, (d) a teaching performance assessment, and (e) a set of inherent requirements used by a range of UNSW teacher education providers. We continually monitor and evaluate the relationship between these measures, the performance during professional experience, and graduate outcomes, including level of self-efficacy.

English Language Proficiency

It is a NESA requirement that all teacher education students have very high levels of English language proficiency, thus in addition to satisfying UNSW entry requirements, see www.unsw.edu.au/english-requirements-policy, oral and written communication skills are assessed regularly as part of all coursework and professional experience. By graduation it is expected that all teacher education students will be able to demonstrate English language proficiency equivalent to a Band 5 NSW HSC- level or an IELTS 7.5, with 8.0 for speaking and listening.

The National Literacy and Numeracy Test

The National Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students is designed to assess initial teacher education students’ personal literacy and numeracy skills to ensure teachers are well equipped to meet the demands of teaching, and assist higher education providers, teacher employers, and the general public to have increased confidence in the skills of graduating teachers.

The test has been introduced to assess those aspects of initial teacher education students’ personal literacy and numeracy skills that can be measured through an online assessment tool. At UNSW, students must successfully complete both components of the LANTITE test prior to enrolling in their first Professional Experience course. You are supplied with information for the tests though Moodle and the link is provided at https://teacheredtest.acer.edu.au. Successful completion of the LANTITE test will be recorded as two zero credit courses, EDST6600 LANTITE (Literacy) and EDST6601 LANTITE (Numeracy) on a student’s academic record.

Working With Children Check

Before their first professional experience placement, all teacher education students must obtain a current Volunteer Working With Children Check (WWC) and attend a UNSW-based 2-hour child protection lecture delivered by the Department of Education – Employee Performance and Conduct Directorate. They must provide a copy of their WWC clearance number to the Professional Experience Office (PEO) via the Online Placement System (OPS). The PEO verifies all WWC numbers in the Office of the Children’s Guardian verification page for employers (https://wwccheck.ccyp.nsw.gov.au/Employers/Login) and classifies students as ‘eligible’ for placement, or not. All EDST 6765 Professional Experience 2 students must then obtain a valid paid WWC clearance. For more information about volunteer and paid WWC Checks, find the link here: https://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/child-safe-organisations/working-with-children-check.

All students must also familiarise themselves with the NSW Department of Education Code of Conduct and the document Responding to Allegations against Employees in the Area of Child Protection. All students are provided access to the policy via the Professional Experience Handbook specific to their year of placement.

Anaphylaxis Training & Certification

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and the Department of Education (DoE) has mandated the completion of anaphylaxis e-training for all permanent, temporary, and casual employees who work in schools, including teacher education students. All UNSW teacher education students must complete the anaphylaxis e-training module provided by the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) in conjunction with practice using an adrenaline auto-injector training device prior to commencing their first placement in schools.

The e-training is a free, online module available at http://etraining.allergy.org.au/. On successful completion of the online module, participants will receive a certificate of completion which should be printed immediately. The Professional Experience Office will then arrange practice using the adrenaline auto-injector training device. Students are then required to upload their signed certificate to the OPS. NESA and the DoE require that students also present a copy of their certificate of completion to principals at the commencement of their professional experience placements. Students should also retain a copy of the certificate for future use within the two years of the certificate’s currency.

The NSW DoE advises that student teachers who do not successfully complete this training, as verified by the university and the principal of their placement school, will not be able to undertake professional experience activities in NSW public schools. The training is required to be successfully undertaken every two years. This is the only training that will be accepted by the DoE to meet the requirement of anaphylaxis training for initial Teacher Education Students.

Award with Distinction

You are eligible for the award of your Pass Degree "with Distinction" if you achieve a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of at least 75 in all courses and complete at least 50% of the requirements of your award at UNSW.

Honours

After completion of 144 UOC including all of the requirements of the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) dual degree, high achieving students may apply for admission to the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) (Honours) program 4509. A minimum WAM of 70 in the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) component of the dual degree is required for entry into Honours.

Bachelor of Education (Secondary) (Honours) program 4509

Academic Rules

To qualify for the award of the degree at Pass level, a student must:
  1. enrol in the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) in Dual mode and complete 96 UOC;
  2. complete the method requirements for one or two areas of teaching specialisation
  3. complete at least 30 UOC of Level 1 courses before enrolling in Level 2 courses
  4. complete at least 30 UOC of Level 2 courses before enrolling in Level 3 courses

Requirements for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dual Mode

Program Structure

The basic requirements for the BFA in Dual mode (96 UOC) are:
  1. Compulsory courses (36 UOC)
  2. Fine Arts Studios (24 UOC)
  3. Fine Arts, Design or Media Studios (24 UOC)
  4. Contextual Studies (12 UOC)

Compulsory Courses

UNSW Art & Design Studios

Students choose from the following UNSW Art & Design Studios:

Fine Arts Studios:
Design Studios:
Media Arts Studios:

Contextual Studies

Students must complete 12 UOC in Contextual Studies, normally in their 2nd year, from approved courses (as listed below):

Academic Rules

  1. Complete 96 UOC of Fine Arts core
  2. Complete at least 30 UOC of Level I courses before enrolling in Level II or Level III courses

Sample Program

4059 Bachelor of Fine Arts Bachelor of Education (Secondary) - Semester 1 intake (Example only)
 Semester 1Semester 2UOC
Level 1EDST1104 Social Perspectives in Education (6)EDST1101 Educational Psychology (6)48
ADAD1001 Studio Gateway 1 (6)ADAD1002 Studio Gateway 2 (6)
SART1001 Fine Arts Gateway 1 (6)SART1002 Fine Arts Gateway 2 (6)
SAHT1101 Creative Practices: Contexts (6)SAHT1102 Creative Practices: Methods (6)
Level 2EDST2003 Learning and Teaching Introductory Perspectives (6)EDST2002 Professional Engagement (6)48
Fine Arts Studio (6)Fine Arts Studio (6)
Fine Arts, Design or Media Arts Studio (6)Fine Arts, Design or Media Arts Studio (6)
EDST1108 Indigenous Perspectives (6)EDST Elective (6)
Level 3EDST4084 Managing the Classroom (6)EDST4080 Special Education: Inclusive Education (6)48
EDST6760 Professional Experience 1 (6)Fine Arts Studio (6)
EDST6775 Visual Arts Method 1 (6)Fine Arts, Design or Media Arts Studio (6)
EDST6771 Graphics and Multimedia Technology Method 1 (6) OR EDST6777 Extension Visual Arts Method 1 (6)Contextual Studies (6)
Level 4EDST4096 Responding to Gifted and Talented Students (6)EDST6765 Professional Experience 2/Internship (12)48
Fine Arts Studio (6)
Fine Arts, Design or Media Arts Studio (6)EDST6776 Visual Arts Method 2 (6)
Contextual Studies (6)EDST6772 Graphics and Multimedia Technology Method 2 (6) OR EDST6778 Extension Visual Arts Method 2 (6)
TOTAL: 192 UOC

Fees

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.

Important Information

The Academic Rules for the UNSW BFA BEd (Secondary) and the online enrolment facility provide students with a wide range of course choices. The online enrolment facility checks that students meet the enrolment requirements for individual courses but not that a course complies with Program Rules. Students are responsible for ensuring they are enrolling in accordance with the Academic Rules outlined above. Students should not assume that because they have enrolled in a course online that the course is automatically credited to their degree program.

Further Information

Contact the UNSW Arts and Social Sciences Student Centre for advice.
Tel: + 61 2 9385 2289
Email: arts@unsw.edu.au
Location: Room G1 Ground Floor, Morven Brown building (C20)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
Frequently asked questions

Glossary of Terms


Area(s) of Specialisation