School Teacher-Secondary

School teachers play an essential part in helping children and young people to acquire the knowledge and social, cultural and practical skills they will need throughout their lives in order to become adult members of society. The work involves building relationships with pupils that encourage them to learn and fulfil their potential.

All teachers adapt their teaching style and methods to the age and ability of their pupils.

Teachers spend most of their time teaching, but they have a range of other duties, which may include:

• preparing materials, planning, presenting and marking lessons
• keeping records of work and writing progress reports
• preparing pupils for exams
• keeping attendance records
• setting and enforcing standards of behaviour inside and outside the classroom
• liaising with parents at parents’ evenings and on other occasions
• adapting teaching methods to the pupils’ age and ability
• identifying underachieving pupils and providing extra help if necessary
• supporting pupils who experience problems such as bullying or parental neglect
• organising and attending extracurricular activities, such as clubs and school shows
• liaising with external professionals, including social workers, education welfare officers and the Gárda Síochána.

Secondary school teachers work with pupils aged between 11 and 19. They usually specialise in teaching one or two NC subjects at Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate level. Some may also teach vocational subjects. A large part of their job focuses on preparing pupils for external examinations.

To become a recognised, second level teacher in Ireland, you must hold a primary degree in a relevant subject area, and/or a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PDE or PGD.

Post-primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE) is provided through programmes that are either concurrent (undergraduate) or consecutive (postgraduate).

The most common route to becoming a post-primary teacher is a Bachelor’s Degree, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Education. If you go this route, your degree must comprise three years full-time study or equivalent, and enable you to teach at least one curriculum subject to Leaving Cert level.

The Teaching Council website provides details of the individual subject requirements (subject criteria) for all post-primary curricular subjects (i.e. English, Maths, Art, Languages etc). The Teaching Council website also provides a list of degrees deemed to meet the requirements for named curricular subjects.

Skills and personal qualities

A school teacher should:

• relate well to young people from all backgrounds
• be able to motivate young people and encourage them to reach their full potential
• have leadership skills, enthusiasm and stamina
• be assertive when faced with challenging behaviour
• be creative and resourceful in presenting a subject in order to bring it to life
• have excellent organisational skills
• be patient and adaptable when teaching pupils of different ability levels
• communicate well with parents and with other professionals
• be able to work to deadlines.

Interests

It is important for a school teacher to:

• like and respect young people and enjoy working with them
• be enthusiastic about the subject(s) they teach and willing to keep up to date with new academic developments
• be interested in theories of learning and teaching

Salary Range: €32,000-€56,000

 

 

Further Information:

The Teaching Coucil