National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE)
RATIONALE
The National Professional Diploma in Education is a two-year programme leading to a qualification that offers classroom based teachers an opportunity to gain qualified teacher status.
It is designed to help the learners reflect and improve upon their classroom practice within the context of Outcome Based Education (OBE).
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
The programme offers training to two main groups of teachers at primary school level. The Foundation Phase which focuses on the lower primary i.e. (Reception to Standard 3) and
Intermediate Phase (Standards 4 to 7). Learners choose their areas of specialisation within these two categories. The major areas of specialisation for each phase are Mathematics,
Life Skills, Language and Communication and Environmental Science.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
To qualify for direct entry into the two year NPDE programme, a candidate must:
• Be a practising teacher with a minimum of three years teaching experience.
• Be in possession of a Junior Certificate (JC) or Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education, or its equivalent.
• Be in possession of a Primary School Teacher’s Certificate (PTC) or its equivalent.
• Candidates without PTC may gain entry through the BA ISAGO Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy, subject to the approval of the Academic Affairs Board.
• All candidates must submit an official letter from their School Heads to confirm their current employment.
PROGRAMME DURATION
All five first-year modules are compulsory for all learners. The five modules are covered under the following main subject
areas:
• Language and Learning Skills – this is aimed at developing the educator’s personal literacy skills in ways that facilitate one’s own academic learning and one’s ability to facilitate learning in the classroom. Finally, one should demonstrate
that he/ she has become a more effective and self-directed communicator.
• Teacher in the Classroom – The module covers issues to do with general classroom management and on-going professional development.
• Continuous Assessment – the learner is introduced to the conceptual principles underpinning the traditional and the outcomes based approach to assessment.
• Understanding Outcome Based Education (OBE) – the module prepares the learner to become a proficient teacher with a deeper understanding of the relationship between the
theory of OBE and issues of teaching.
• School and Profession – This module deals with current issues related to the education system, school management, education policy, and the teaching profession and teacher
competences, as well as focusing on the legal instruments
which impact on the education system.
• Research Project – This module equips learners with research skills in their areas of specialisation. The research is split into two components. The first component, done
in the first year, deals with research methods, while in the second year, learners do a research project which should be submitted at the end of the second year.