New Pathway Into Primary Teaching Meets A Need

Te Rito Maioha is launching a new three-year Bachelor of Teaching | Tohu Paetahi Whakaako (Primary) that does not require students to relocate from their home communities.

The three-year Bachelor of Teaching | Tohu Paetahi Whakaako (Primary) degree is field-based and online delivered by Te Rito Maioha in partnership with schools.

The programme is offered throughout Aotearoa New Zealand providing the flexibility for students to study while staying in their local communities.

Te Rito Maioha is already an established and experienced bi-cultural provider of early childhood education, with a strong established online teaching and learning presence and structures in place to support and mentor students.

“We also have 11 education centres around the country, to provide face-to-face support as needed and spaces for groups of students to interact. We are committed to working with our all students to enable them to succeed, “says Programme Development Leader Anthony Fisher.

We have had a really good start to 2021 with better than expected enrolments into our new programme.

“This is great news, and it’s clear we have found a programme delivery formula that meets a need for schools and students, “says Anthony Fisher.

The programme will see student teachers|kaiako immersed in a school-based environment for two days a week, gaining experience and confidence in a classroom setting throughout their three years of study.

It provides a pathway to a teaching career for school leavers, teacher aides, parents or career changers who might otherwise not have had the opportunity to study to become a primary school teacher, for a variety of reasons.

While students from anywhere in the country can enrol, a key aim of the field-based programme is to help address the teaching shortage in smaller cities, towns and rural areas by enabling students in those communities to gain a primary school teaching qualification.

“We know that in a lot of rural and other remote areas many young people don’t go on to tertiary education for a number of reasons, often financial. They are unable to move away from home when the family | whānau is already under financial stress, or they may not want to move away from their support networks, especially now under a Covid-19 environment.

“We want to break down those barriers in order to provide access to tertiary study for these people. Most other programmes look at people coming to central places to study, whereas this is different. We have been working with schools to address and build in a lot more community support for students.

“For example, Year 13s in an area school would be able to stay on at their school while they study with us. This provides support for students during their initial transition into tertiary education and familiarity with their surroundings. We are finding a lot of communities are keen to support young people into this pathway to employment,” says Anthony Fisher.

Students on the programme combine online study with two days a week field-based practice immersed in a school in the role of a student teacher | kaiako, along with extended practicums each year in another primary, intermediate, middle or Area school.

Schools will be confident that our students will graduate with much more on the job experience and be well ready to teach our young children|tamariki.

“We are thrilled with the interest in our new Primary degree and, with the shortages of teachers in primary, see this as an opportunity to attract people into the teaching profession and assist schools who need amazing teachers,” says Te Rito Maioha Chief Executive Kathy Wolfe.

© Scoop Media