Circular 2008/10: New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects

Education Circular
This circular is about the New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Secondary Teacher) Division II.

New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Secondary Teacher) Division II

This circular is about: The New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Secondary Teacher) Division II.

The action required is: Please ensure that all staff who may be eligible for enrolment in the New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Secondary Teacher) Division II are made aware of the relevant information.

It is intended for: Boards of trustees who employ secondary teachers, and principals. This includes secondary teachers in area schools, and secondary “manual” teachers at primary schools employed under the STCA or promulgated IEA.

For further information: Contact the Industrial Relations Unit by email: industrial.relations@minedu.govt.nz. See the ministry’s website: www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/specialistdiploma

Introduction

This circular provides an update on the New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Secondary Teacher) Division II. Please ensure that all staff who may be eligible for enrolment in the New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Secondary Teacher) Division II are made aware of the following information.

An opportunity to upgrade to salary group G3+

The New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Secondary Teacher) Division II gives a group of teachers a targeted opportunity to upgrade their qualifications for the G3+ salary group. Please note that eligibility criteria are wider than those in the original New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Division I), to allow access to a wider group of teachers.

The Ministry of Education has entered into a contract with UC Education Plus (University of Canterbury) for the delivery of the Diploma. The Ministry will pay all fees for each teacher enrolled in the Diploma, except where additional papers are needed to complete the Diploma (in which case the teacher must meet the fees for any additional papers him/herself). It is expected that most teachers will not need additional papers to complete the Diploma.

Entitlement to the G3+ salary group is effective from the date of formal notification of completion of the Diploma as per clause 4.2.1(c) of the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2007-2010. This means that teachers who have successfully completed the Diploma and who have been on step 13 of the salary scale for one or more years of service will be entitled to an immediate increment to step 14 of the salary scale. Teachers who have not yet reached step 13 of the salary scale will be able to progress by annual increment to step 14, the top step of the scale.

Wrap-around package: study leave and $2500 completion payment

In addition to the study assistance described above, each teacher enrolled in the Diploma is eligible for up to five days study leave (the teacher and their school will determine how many days study leave is required). The application form is available on the Ministry’s website at www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/specialistdiploma.

Each teacher will receive a payment of $2500 (gross) upon successful completion of the New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Secondary Teacher) Division II. A portion of this payment will be pro-rated for part-time teachers.

A positive professional learning experience

Teachers enrolled in the New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects receive credit exemptions depending on their previous qualifications. A range of electives will be provided to complete the balance of the credits required to total 360.

Each teacher will attend a workshop, and then prepare for an assessment of prior learning process. Prior learning may have been acquired through study, work and other life experiences. The assessment of prior learning is usually held within six months of attending the first workshop. Only those who do not achieve the required number of credits through this process will need to complete further study.

The workshop approach allows the process to become a team effort rather than a solo effort. It provides teachers with a network of people who are going through the same process at the same time. Teachers who completed the New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects when it was first offered found this support useful and effective.

Eligibility criteria and how to apply

To be eligible to enrol in the New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects (Secondary Teacher) Division II, each teacher must:

have been a trained teacher with a specialist subject qualification employed as a secondary teacher in a New Zealand state or state integrated school, at 5 February 2003, and at the date of application
be in the G3, G2 or G1 salary group, at 5 February 2003 and at the date of application (G1 and G2 teachers must have continuously held one or more permanent units since 5 February 2003 until the date of application for the Diploma, or the date of upgrading qualifications for salary group G3), and
not have enrolled in the first (2005) New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects.

Note that secondary teachers in area schools, and secondary teachers in primary schools (employed under the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement or an individual employment agreement based on this collective agreement: secondary “manual” teachers paid on the secondary teachers’ scale), are eligible to enrol, provided that they meet all other eligibility criteria as outlined above.

“Specialist subject qualifications” are qualifications at level 5 or above that support the teaching of the New Zealand secondary curriculum in years 7-13. For the purposes of entry to the New Zealand Diploma in Specialist Subjects Division II, specialist subject qualifications include qualifications that combine teaching and specialist subject elements (for example, Division H (Home Economics/Homecraft) Teacher Training). There is also provision for recognition of partially completed specialist subject qualifications for entry to the Diploma – contact the Industrial Relations Unit for more information.

Note also that, for entry to the Diploma, the criterion that the teacher be a trained teacher is not restricted to secondary-specific training. Primary trained teachers working as secondary teachers are eligible to enrol in the Diploma (so long as they meet all other eligibility criteria).

Teachers interested in this qualification should go to www.edplus.canterbury.ac.nz/nzdipss/index for information and an application form, and direct any enquiries to Christiane Rupp or Judy Henderson at nzdipss@edplus.canterbury.ac.nz. Eligibility enquiries should be sent to industrial.relations@minedu.govt.nz or anna.friedlander@minedu.govt.nz.

Completed application forms should be submitted to the Industrial Relations Unit of the Ministry of Education (PO Box 1666, Wellington). The Unit will check that each applicant meets the eligibility criteria, and then forward the applications to UC Education Plus for enrolment in the Diploma course.

The assessment takes the form of a “professional conversation” between the assessor and each teacher about what he/she teaches and how he/she teaches it. The assessor will be looking for general good teaching practice, and this includes evidence teachers have applied information about their subjects, about teaching and about assessment from 'expert' sources. Some candidates find this off-putting because they think it means this is a research project, but in fact that is not the case.

In the workshops, teachers are encouraged to think about what they have read about teaching, learning, assessment and their subjects from information provided by the Ministry of Education (especially the subject area curriculum statements), the NZQA, teacher associations and other authoritative groups within the industry – this is all appropriate 'educational literature'.

Teachers who graduated with the first Diploma have endorsed the knowledge and additional confidence they gained. The learning gained was described as ‘the best professional development we have experienced in all our years of teaching’. Some have chosen to go on to further study, while others have accepted promotion in their own school or were successful in their applications for higher positions elsewhere.

Issued by

Graham Huckstep
Acting Senior Manager Industrial Relations
Ministry of Education
National Office
45 – 47 Pipitea Street, Thorndon
P O Box 1666, Wellington, New Zealand
Phone: 0-4-463 8000
Fax: 0-4-463 8001