What do I need to study to be a vocational teacher?

It seems logical to think that to be a teacher in Spain it is enough to study the relevant degree, but as we have seen, it is not that simple. Depending on the degree you want to work on, you will need one degree or the other. In early childhood education and primary education it is simple as there are degrees in early childhood and primary education.

In the next educational stage (ESO, Bachillerato, Vocational Training, etc.) the doubts about what you should be a teacher in secondary education begin. Well, depending on the training you have completed, you will need to complete your training well with Master’s degree in teacher education or with a didactic specialist course. And on the other hand, if you want to access the university system as a teacher, the path to being a university professor is another.

In this report, we will focus on the explanation What do you need to study to be a vocational teacher?especially for those people who have studied a higher level study cycle and who do not have a university degree that gives them access to a master’s degree in secondary education.

1. What do I need to be a secondary school teacher?

First of all, secondary education in Spain covers both compulsory secondary education (ESO, with its four courses) and undergraduate (two courses) and vocational training (basic vocational training, intermediate, higher).

The profession of teacher in secondary education is regulated, i.e. certain academic requirements are required to practice and teach. In this case, it is necessary to have a Higher education and a master’s degree in secondary teacher education. It is qualifying master’s degree which allows you to work as a secondary school teacher in Spain.

This degree is required to work in both public and private centers and is a basic requirement to sit for secondary education oppositions (except in certain cases, such as qualifications gained before 2009 with the old Certificate of Teaching Ability-CAP ).

two. Master’s Degree in Secondary Teacher Education

And what is the master’s degree in teacher training for secondary education? As we said, it is a official master’s degree and enabler, lasting one year, with which you will learn to teach. There is a general module and another specific to the subject you want to teach (biology, mathematics, language and literature, geography, etc.). It also includes a compulsory internship module and a Master’s thesis.

What requirements do you need to have to study a Masters in Secondary Education? In principle, having a university degree (Bachelor or BA) which is related to one of the subjects taught during that university stage (history, geography, economics, physics, mathematics, etc.) and having level B1 in a foreign language.

Public and private universities teach this master’s degree, both face-to-face, semi-face-to-face, and online. With this Master’s degree, you will be able to work in schools and institutes with students aged between 12 and 18, or in Compulsory Secondary Education, Bachelor’s Degree, Vocational Training or Languages.

3. What is a didactic specialized course?

And what about people who don’t have a college degree but want to graduate from high school? As one of the entry requirements for a master’s degree in teacher education is to have a university degree, people who have a vocational training degree cannot access it.

However, there is special training for these cases: Didactic specialization course, a certificate that establishes training equivalent to pedagogical and didactic training for those people who cannot pursue master’s training because they have not completed higher education. This certificate allows access to A body of technical vocational teachers to people who do not have a higher education and have a higher education in the specialty.

Access to this course also requires as a requirement that you have a level B1 in a foreign languageand allows teaching in all vocational training and sports education. This title is valid for the entire national territory and is taught at various universities in both blended and distance learning.

The trainings leading to obtaining this accreditation will have a duration of 60 European credits and will include part of the Practicum in cooperation with educational institutions for conducting internships in centers. The course is different specialties for each of the 10 families from the Corps of Technical Vocational Teachers (cooking, esthetics, car maintenance, hairdressing, welding, etc.).

Four. Where should I study the didactic specialization course for VET teachers?

Depending on the university, you will find this course with different names. Todofp.es lists all the universities that offer this training. You can study the didactic specialization course to be a FP teacher at the following universities:

mixed
· University of Burgos, Pedagogical and Didactic Training Course
University of La Laguna, University Diploma in Equivalent Didactic Pedagogical Training
· University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Official Equivalent Pedagogical and Didactic Training Course
· University of the Balearic Islands, Official Equivalent Pedagogical and Didactic Training Course
· Polytechnic University of Cartagena and University of Murcia, COFPyDE: Pedagogical and Didactic Training Certificate for FP Technical Teachers
· State University of Navarre, University Extension Diploma for Technical Teachers in Vocational Training and Sports Education
· University of Zaragoza University Extension Diploma in Pedagogical and Didactic Training for Vocational Technical Teachers
· University of the Basque Country, Pedagogical and Didactic Training of Technical Teachers for Vocational Training

Online and remote
· National University for Distance, Pedagogical and Didactic Training in Vocational and Sports Training
· International University of La Rioja (UNIR), Pedagogical and Didactic Training for Vocational Training Technicians (COFPYD)
· International University of Andalusia, Official Certificate of Equivalent Pedagogical and Didactic Training
· University of Extremadura, Master’s Degree in Pedagogical and Didactic Training for Teaching Qualification in Regulated Vocational Education (COFPE)
· University of La Rioja University Extension Diploma in Pedagogical and Didactic Training for Vocational Teachers
· Universities of Valencia, Pedagogical and Didactic Training Course for Technical VET Teachers
· Alfonso X El Sabio University, Online Pedagogical and Didactic Training Course for Vocational Education Teachers
Distance University of Madrid (UDIMA), Pedagogical training to access the teaching profession for professional training
· Isabel I University, Pedagogical and Didactic Training for Teachers of Vocational Training and Sports Education
· Pontifical University of Salamanca, Pedagogical and Didactic Training Course

5. Who does not need to do a teaching master’s degree or pedagogic training

Those in the following situations should not take a master’s degree in secondary teacher education:

– Higher education before October 1, 2009 (bachelor’s degree, diploma, architect or engineer) who have professional titles of didactic specialization and a certificate of pedagogical competence obtained before that date.
– Pre-teaching before the end of the academic year 2008-2009 for two full academic years or, if this is not possible, 12 months in continuous or interrupted periods, in duly authorized public or private regulated educational centers.
– Those who have an official university diploma that meets the conditions for practicing the profession of teacher or a bachelor’s degree in pedagogy or psychopedagogy obtained before October 1, 2009.

Those in the following situations should not take the didactic specialist course:

– Teaching before 1 September 2014 for two full academic years or two full cycles of teaching sport or, otherwise, 12 months in continuous or interrupted periods, in duly authorized public or private regulated education centres.

In short, to be a vocational teacher there is two possibilities: have a university degree and a master’s degree in teacher education or have a higher technical degree and a didactic specialization course. If you want to work in the public sector, you have to pass the educational oppositions called by the autonomous communities.