Teacher — Secondary School — Modern Studies
Career outlook for teacher — secondary school — modern studies
Average UK salary
£44,720
Currently employed in Scotland
28,900
"LMI for All" supplies our salary and employment status information. "Oxford Economics" supplies job forecasts and employment figures. Due to COVID-19 the jobs market is constantly changing. Some of the information may not reflect the current situation.
What's it like?
You would encourage young people to learn about how society works, think about values, conflicts, democracy, citizenship and understand how laws are made.
You would teach young people from 11 to 18 years old. You could work in public or private schools. You might also work in a college or learning centre.
As Modern Studies teacher you’d inspire and motivate them to understand more about values, conflicts of ideas and how they can influence events by exercising democracy and citizenship.
You’d teach students of different ages and abilities and prepare young people to take the National Qualifications and Highers in this subject.
There is national guidance for Curriculum for Excellence Social Studies and National Qualifications which you would use when planning your teaching.
You would:
- prepare lessons and teaching materials
- assess students’ progress and mark their work
- set homework
- manage classroom behaviour
- discuss students' progress with parents and carers
- organise study trips, social activities and sports events
You’d encourage the students to take pride in their achievements inside and outside school. You’d support them to build good relationships with other students and teachers and play a positive part in the life of the school and the local community.
You’d help them get the knowledge, skills and attributes they’ll need for a successful and positive life when they leave school.
Sometimes you will need to deal with challenging behaviour. It may be difficult to get some teenagers to study so you’d need to be imaginative and enthusiastic to keep them interested.
You’d need to attend meetings and training courses. You’d work closely with colleagues to plan the school’s timetables. It’s also important to work alongside other educational professionals like educational psychologists and social workers
Working conditions
Hours
Environment
Travel
UK employment status
Full-time
72%
Part-time
26%
Self employed
2%
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- Supporting
- Verbal communication
- Written communication
- Empathising
- Respecting
- Social conscience
- Ethical
- Coaching
- Mentoring
- Motivating others
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Entry requirements for courses can change. Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.
Qualifications
You'll need a relevant social studies degree (SCQF Level 9/10). You'll also need to complete a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) Modern Studies (SCQF Level 11).
To enter a PGDE, you'll need a degree with at least 80 credit points in two of the following subjects:
- Economics
- Geography
- History and economic history
- International Relations
- Law
- Politics
- Sociology
- Social policy
At least 40 credit points must be from politics, sociology or social policy.
To enter a degree (SCQF level 9/10) usually requires National 5 qualifications and a minimum of three Highers or a relevant HNC/HND.
Useful subjects
Courses require:
- Higher English
- National 5 Maths
- Highers in social studies subjects such as History, Geography or Modern Studies.
You will also need
To be approved for membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme run by Disclosure Scotland
Helpful to have
Qualifications and experience that demonstrate the ability to work with children or young people will be useful. Communication skills and experience in politics or community activity can also be helpful.
You will be expected to support literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing as well as your own subject.