This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Distance learning for prospective teachers
15/08/2003
An innovative new distance learning course for
prospective primary teachers - including Gaelic medium
places - was launched in Inverness today.
The two-year postgraduate course - the first of its kind
in Scotland - will be run by Aberdeen University in
conjunction with Highland Council and will enable local
people to train as teachers without having to move to
Aberdeen or to the central belt where the main teacher
education institutions are based.
Twenty six students will take part in the first course,
which begins next month, including five training as
Gaelic-medium teachers.
The course is based around web learning,
video-conferencing, and teaching practice in their local
area.
Students will also be offered support through a 'buddy'
system and regular visits by tutors to assess progress.
Launching the new course, Education Minister Peter
Peacock said:
"This course is an excellent example of how creative
thinking has enabled Aberdeen University to bring initial
teacher education directly to people who want to train as
teachers - a move which will support our efforts to train
more teachers to meet the needs of a 21st century Scottish
education system.
"One of the real benefits for students is that the
course will enable people from Highland to continue to live
in their local community and work during their studies.
This will be particularly important in encouraging mature
students to train as teachers, who may be put off attending
traditional campus-based courses because of domestic
commitments.
"In delivering training in the areas in which students
want to live, the course will also enable new teachers to
contribute to the work of schools in more rural parts of
Scotland, and in turn help build sustainable communities
for the future. If this first course is a success, then we
will encourage the development of similar distance learning
courses for other parts of Scotland.
"I am particularly pleased Aberdeen University is
offering prospective teachers Gaelic-medium courses. The
Scottish Executive is dedicated to supporting and
strengthening Gaelic-medium education and culture, and
increasing the number of teachers who can teach in
Gaelic.
"This year 23 primary and three secondary teachers
graduated in Scotland who can teach in the Gaelic-medium.
This course will help support the Executive's efforts to
increase the number of Gaelic-medium teachers in Scottish
primary schools and keep the language alive.
"I would like to wish this first group of distance
learning students every success in their training and in
their future career. They have chosen a challenging but
rewarding profession, but one for which I am sure this new
course will provide an excellent grounding."
The course has been accredited by the General Teaching
Council of Scotland and approved by Scottish Ministers. If
successful, it may lead the way for similar distance
learning courses in other local authority areas in the
future.