Bachelor of Education (BEd)
The Bachelor of Education (BEd) is a four-year, full-time degree that qualifies you as a teacher for any school in South Africa and entitles you to register with the South African Council for Educators (SACE).
Students who enrol for the BEd may choose one of the following programmes:
- Foundation Phase Teaching: Grades R - 3
- Senior Primary Teaching: Grades 4 - 7
- Secondary Teaching: Grades 8 - 12
Curriculum for the Bachelor of Education
The curriculum for each of the programmes above comprises core and elective courses in professional and academic subjects, see Table 1 below.
The professional subjects are studied in all four years of the degree and include Teaching Methodology courses and Teaching Experience which is a 6 week school-based, practical undertaken in every year of study.
The academic subjects include:
Education which is studied in all four years of the degree
Two Subject Specialisations
- One of these will be studied over four years and is called a major subject
- The other will be studied over three years and is called a sub-major
In both of these cases you will spend the first two years studying a Learning Area and this will then lead either to a major or sub-major where you specialise in specific teaching subjects - See Table 2 below
Table 1: BEd curriculum over four years
| CORE COURSES | DESCRIPTION |
| Education I, II, III, IV | Foundation modules in Educational Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy and how these are relevant in diverse classroom contexts. |
| Mathematical Routes | A first-year course which develops your ability to apply mathematics in everyday life and as a teacher. |
Understand and learn a new language from:
|
Learn a new language that you have not studied before. A new language will be invaluable when teaching in multilingual classrooms. |
| Major I, II, III, Iv Sub-Major I, II, III |
Build content knowledge in two learning areas then deepen your subject knowledge by studying two teaching subjects. |
| Teaching Methodology Courses I, II, III, IV | You are introduced to the ways in which teachers work to extend leaners' knowledge and understanding of teh subjects they teach. Methodologies include practical knowledge and skills necessary for teaching particular phases/subjects. |
| New Literacies for Teachers | Examine your own literacy practices, understand how literacy works in classrooms and begin to develop the academic literacies you will need for your university studies. |
Table 2: Learning Areas and their Subject Specialisations in Third and Fourth year
| TEACHING SUBJECTS | |
| Economic and Management Sciences I, II | Accounting III, IV |
| Business Economics III, IV | |
| Economics III, IV | |
| Natural Science I, II | Life Sciences III, IV |
| Physical Sciences III, IV | |
| Social Sciences I, II | Geography III, IV |
| History III, IV | |
| English I, II | English III, IV |
| Afrikaans I, II | Afrikaans III, IV |
| IsiZulu I, II | IsiZulu III, IV |
| Mathematics I, II | Mathematics III, IV |
| Concepts and Literacy in Mathematics III | |
| Technology I, II | Engineering Graphics and Design III, IV |
| Electrical Technology III, IV | |
| Mechanical Technology III, IV | |
| Information Technology III, IV | |
| Life Orientation I, II | Physical Education III |
| Religious Education III | |
| Arts and Culture I, II | Drama III |
| Music III | |
| Visual Arts III | |
| Early Child Development I, II | Early Child Development III |