A certified teacher is a teacher who has earned credentials from an authoritative source, such as the government, a higher education

institution or a private source. This teacher qualification gives a teacher authorization to teach and grade in pre-schools, primary or secondary education in countries, schools, content areas or curricula where authorization is required. While many authorizing entities require student teaching before earning teacher certification, routes vary from country to country. A teaching qualification is one of a number of academic and professional degrees that enables a person to become a registered teacher. Depending on country, such qualifications may for example include the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), the Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and the Bachelor of Education.In Canada provinces have jurisdiction over education. In some provinces certification is handled through a provincial government department while in others a provincial College of Teachers has responsibility. Generally the requirements are for an undergraduate university degree plus a one or two year Bachelor's of Education or equivalent. For general overviews, the governing departments or Colleges usually have dedicated websites, accessible here: http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/profcert/province.html

In Manitoba, for example, the responsibility for teacher certification lies with the Department of Education, Citizenship, and Youth - Professional Certification and Records Branch. Teachers need a Bachelor's degree in Education (B.Ed.), often on top of another recognized Bachelor's degree. This adds one or two more years to a university education.

To earn a degree in secondary education, teachers must have a certain number of university credits in their subject field. This number varies from province to province, and in some provinces it varies from school to school. Most employers of teachers require that successful applicants complete criminal record checks, as well as verification that an employee is not listed in the Child Abuse Registry. These same requirements are, in addition to being a sound part of the hiring practice, a requirement of most provincial education legislation. Other requirements such as a tuberculosis test, and level of experience criteria may also be required. Many provinces require prospective teachers to obtain a criminal record check prior to hire.

In extreme circumstances, such as a lack of any suitable certifiable candidates for a specific teaching position, an employer may apply for temporary certification of a non-certified person. This temporary certification is usually valid for one calendar year after ministry approval, but must be requested by the school, not by a non-certified applicant for a teaching position.

France[edit source | editbeta]

In France, teachers (professeurs) are mainly civil servants, recruited by competitive examination. They must have previously gained college education and receive professional education in IUFMs (University Institutes for Teachers Training). Starting in 2010, IUFM studies will be replaced by a new Master of Education. There are six corps of teachers in France's public service :

five corps require at least a licentiate (bachelor's degree equivalent) and hold the same pay : Professeurs des coles : Primary education teachers. They pass the CRPE competitive exam. Professeurs certifis : high school, mainly junior high, teachers. They hold the CAPES (certificate for teaching in secondary education) or the CAPET (certificate for teaching in technological education). Professeurs de l'enseignement priv : private schools teachers. They hold the CAFEP (certificate for teaching in private education). Professeurs de lyces professionnels : vocational high schools teachers. They hold the CAPLP (certificate for teaching in vocational high schools). Professeurs de l'enseignement physique et sportif : sport teachers. They hold the CAPEPS (certificate for teaching sport education). One corps require at least a master's degree and hold a higher pay : Professeurs agrgs : high school teachers. They pass the Agrgation competitive exam. A very prestigious title, often required for applying at academic positions. They represent a minority in high schools. In addition, every holder of a licentitate may teach on a non-permanent basis.

India[edit source | editbeta]

In India across various states there are different qualifications required to be a teacher. The government school generally recruit the teachers through competitive examination. There are degrees like BEd, DEd, TTC to professionally train the teachers. However, one may be appointed as teacher in a non government funded school even if one does not have these degrees. Apart from the state schools there are also schools run under the Central government. These schools strictly recruit based on the qualification alone. In situations where the government recruits people without qualifications, there are in service training done by DIETS. In the colleges, that is the post school education, however the qualification does not a teacher training degree, but remains to be national / state level examinations and qualifications decided by UGC.

Indonesia[edit source | editbeta]

Since 2007, millions of in-service school teachers in Indonesian public and private formal schools have participated in the national teacher certification program. This is part of a nation-wide educator certification system that aims to improve teachers' and lecturers' professionalism and welfare. It was established as the implementation of the Teacher and Lecturer Act of 2005, one of the ground-breaking pieces of legislation and government regulations in the education sector deliberated during the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration. To qualify for the program, a school teacher must first of all have a four-year diploma or an undergraduate degree from a recognized tertiary institution. Junior teachers with achievements are encouraged to take part in a teacher certification program through teacher training that lasts two semesters; senior teachers are required to take part in teacher certification through portfolio assessment. These two types of teacher certification are conducted in more than 35 in-service teacher certification centers throughout Indonesia. The majority of these centers are located in state and private universities that were once teachers' colleges and are still running teacher training programs. Successful participants will receive an "Educator Certificate" entitling the holders to, among others, financial incentives and chances for career promotion.

Singapore[edit source | editbeta]

Teachers in Singapore teaching at government primary and secondary schools (including Junior Colleges) must attain a Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed) or a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE). Both qualifications can be obtained only at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). Information can be found here: Diploma programmes, PGDE, Information about Teacher Recruitment

Sweden[edit source | editbeta]

In Sweden, only registered teachers and preschool teachers will be elligiblie for permanent employment, after 1 December 2013, with a few exceptions. The head-master is responsible for grading if the teacher is not registred. Only registered teachers can be mentor to new teachers during their probationary year, which is required for registration. Since 1 July 2011, teachers and preschool teachers in Sweden can apply for registration by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The purpose of the reform is to raise the level of skills among teachers and preschool teachers so as to improve the quality of

educational services. A long-term goal is also to achieve an increase in the salary of teachers to make teacher studies more attractive and attract stronger students.[1] United Kingdom[edit source | editbeta] England and Wales[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Qualified Teacher Status In England and Wales teachers in the maintained sector must have gained Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and be registered with either the General Teaching Council for England or the General Teaching Council for Wales. There are many paths in which a person can work towards gaining their QTS, the most popular of which is to have completed a first degree (such as a BA or BSc) and then a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). Other methods include a specific teaching degree or on-the-job training at a school. All qualified teachers in England must serve, after training, a statutory one year induction period that must be passed in order to remain a registered teacher. In Wales this period lasts for two years. During this period a teacher is known as an NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher). Schools are obliged to provide guidance, support and training to facilitate the NQT's success during this year. Local education authorities are also obliged to provide professional development opportunities.

Teachers in independent schools are not statutorily required to hold QTS, although independent schools increasingly prefer teachers to hold this qualification unless they have already gained significant teaching experience. The post-experience PGCE at the University of Buckingham is designed for independent school teachers. Some specialist independent schools, such as those following Montessori principles, require teachers trained in that specific educational philosophy.

The Teach First scheme, aimed at recent graduates, was introduced in 2003 in London and more recently in Manchester and it allows trainees to teach in schools without the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). After an intense period of training in the summer following graduation, trainees are placed in secondary schools. Following the successful completion of the first year, trainee teachers gain QTS status and a PGCE and may then continue teaching for a minimum of one year.