My colleague, Prof. Josef Lauri (The Sunday Times, November 7), takes Mcast to task because in a recent call of applications for posts of Mathematics lecturers the main requirement was a “B.Ed. (Hons) degree in Mathematics”, though a concession is made to “holders of other degrees specialising in Mathematics... but possession of a PGCE will be considered an asset”.

I fully concur with Prof. Lauri that knowledge of the subject is very important, as one cannot teach a subject without having a deep knowledge of it. That is precisely why the B.Ed. (Hons) Mathematics course includes the first two-and-a-half years of the four-year B.Sc. (Hons) Mathematics academicprogramme.

Prof. Lauri should rest assured that B.Ed. (Hons) Mathematics graduates have the deep knowledge that is necessary to teach the subject not only at secondary level butalso in the vast majority of mathematics courses at post-secondary level.

However, knowledge of educational theory (philosophy of education, sociology of education and psychology of education) and knowledge of subject methodology are just as essential as subject matter knowledge in the education of quality teachers. It is these three forms of knowledge that make up the knowledge needed for teaching.

Unfortunately, as the PGCE is just a one-year course, it can only cover a portion of the educational theory and subject methodology that are covered in the four-year B.Ed. (Hons) course. Hence Prof. Lauri should not find it surprising that other educational institutions like MCAST give preference to B.Ed. (Hons) graduates, as this course produces mathematics teachers who are much better prepared to teach than their colleagues who graduate from the PGCE course.

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