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Undergraduate & honours qualifications

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Bachelor of Education in Senior Phase and Further Education and Training Teaching

Qualification stream: Life Sciences (Biology) and Geography
Qualification code: 90104 - LSG
NQF level: 7
Total credits: 480
SAQA ID: 103108
APS/AS: 23
Rules:
This BEd degree is offered with different streams/School Subject Combinations. Each combination is structured for a specific teaching field and students need to follow one of these. Students may only offer one of these combinations, unless DHET (Department of Higher Education and Training) approves the offering of a second BEd degree in a different School Subject Combination. A student who has successfully completed this qualification will be able to teach from Grades 7 to 12 in the School Subject Combination selected. Teaching Practice is a compulsory component in this program and must be taken according to the specific criteria every year. Five weeks practical is required every year, and three weeks must be offered consecutively. This qualification comprises both semester and year modules. Year modules may only be registered during the January registration period of each academic year. Students must also register themselves with SACE (South African Council for Educators) from the first year of BEd registration. Please visit the SACE website for more information: https://www.sace.org.za/
Purpose statement:
The qualification will develop qualified classroom teachers who can demonstrate focused knowledge and skills in the teaching of particular specialisations. The qualification requires a specific depth of, and specialisation in, knowledge together with practical skills and workplace experience to enable successful students to enter the teaching profession and apply their learning as beginner teachers in schools in varying contexts. They should be able to demonstrate initiative and responsibility in an academic and professional teaching environment. In order to prepare teachers for this comprehensive role, the Bachelor of Education in Senior Phase and Further Education and Training Teaching qualification seeks to: - Foster self-reflexivity and self-understanding among prospective teachers. - Develop the professional disposition and self-identity of students as teachers. - Develop students as active citizens and enable them to develop the disposition of citizenship in their learners. - Promote and develop the disposition and competences to organise learning among a diverse range of learners in diverse contexts. - Provide a well-rounded education that equips graduates with the required subject content knowledge base, educational theory and methodology that will enable them to demonstrate competence and responsibility as academically and professionally qualified beginner teachers. - Develop educationally-focused disciplinary learning (foundations of education), general pedagogical learning, fundamental learning and situational learning. Fundamental learning at Level 5 is included. (These credits for Level 5 are not awarded through Recognition of Prior Learning). - Focus on the teaching specialisation phase and/or subject, including subject-focused disciplinary, pedagogical subject and practical learning. - Have graduates specialise in at least three teaching specialisations. - Enable newly qualified teachers to accommodate multiple learning levels amongst learners through curriculum differentiation. - Develop qualified classroom teachers who can demonstrate knowledge and skills in the teaching of a particular specialisation, phase and/or subject(s). - Develop and consolidate, in an integrated way, appropriate disciplinary, practical, pedagogical and situational knowledge. - Cultivate a practical understanding of teaching and learning in a diverse range of South African schools in relation to educational theory, phase and/or subject specialisation, practice and policy. - Provide a minimum of 20 weeks and maximum of 32 weeks in supervised and assessed school-based practice.
This qualification will be presented using both online and distance learning modes.
Qualification offered until 2028, and ONLY for students previously registered for this qualification.

Who can register?

  • Applicants (new applicants & Unisa students who applied for admission to a new qualification) may only register if they have received an offer of placement from Unisa and have accepted the offer online. Unisa reserves the right to not process and / or to cancel your registration if it is found that you were incorrectly admitted to a qualification. 
  • Re-registering students may register for the 2026 academic year once the registration period opens.

Please note: Should you wish to start a new qualification, please apply online for the alternative qualification during the prescribed application period.


How to choose your modules

Each Unisa qualification is structured in such a way that you need to pass a certain number of NQF level credits within a certain amount of time in order to graduate.

  • Co-requisite: Module A is a co-requisite for Module B. You want to register for Module B, but have not yet passed Module A. You must then register for both Modules A and B simultaneously. You may NOT cancel your registration for Module A unless Module B is also cancelled.
  • Pre-requisite: If Module A is a pre-requisite for Module B, you must pass Module A before you may register for Module B.

You may not register for more than the allowed maximum number of credits / modules per academic year and / or semester: 60 credits per semester or 120 credits per academic year.

The maximum number of credits do not include supplementary and / or aegrotat examinations from a previous semester. Modules taken for non-degree / non-diploma purposes also count towards the maximum number of credits allowed.

You must take your available time into consideration when choosing your modules, as this will impact your academic performance. You need approximately

  • 6 to 8 hours per week for semester modules.
  • 4 to 6 hours per week for year modules.

Click here for more information on managing your studies.

Curriculum for this qualification

While you are deciding on the modules for which you will be registering, write down the module names and codes so that you have something to refer to when completing your registration.

Please click on the modules below to see further information (eg semester/year module, NQF level)

Module (Please click on the module to see further information) Pre-requisite/Co-requisite/Recommendation
Group A. Compulsory
BOT1501 - Plant Structure: Cytology, Morphology and Anatomy
BOT1603 - Botany I (Practical) Co-requisite:BOT1501 or BOT1502
BPT1501 - Being a Professional Teacher
BTE2601 - Becoming a Teacher
CHE1501 - General Chemistry IA
GGH1501 - Discover the world: Introduction to Geography
GGH1502 - World Issues: A Geographical Perspective
TPS2601 - Teaching Practice for Senior Phase I
ZOL1501 - Animal Diversity I
ZOL1603 - Zoology I (Practical) Co-requisite:ZOL1501 or ZOL1502
Group B. Language of Communicative Competence. Choose ONE module from the following (Must NOT be the same as Home or First Additional Language)
AFK1505 - Afrikaans vir beginners (Afrikaans for Beginners) Recommendation:- Students have successfully completed level 4, i.e. National Senior Certificate. - Students have adequate competency in English to be able to use it as the language of instruction for the module. - Students have the ability to learn from oral, written and recorded material in Afrikaans. - Students have access to the internet and a computer.
NDE1507 - Applied African Language Communicative Competence for Second Additional Language - isiNdebele
NSO1507 - Applied African Language Communicative Competence for Second Additional Language - Sepedi
SNL1507 - Basic Sign Language
SSO1507 - Applied African Language Communicative Competence for Second Additional Language - Sesotho
SWA1507 - Applied African Language Communicative Competence for Second Additional Language - SiSwati
TSO1507 - Applied African Language Communicative Competence for Second Additional Language - Xitsonga
TSW1507 - Applied African Language Communicative Competence for Second Additional Language - Setswana
VEN1507 - Applied African Language Communicative Competence for Second Additional Language - Tshivenda
XHO1507 - Applied African Language Communicative Competence for Second Additional Language - isiXhosa
ZUL1507 - Applied African Language Communicative Competence for Second Additional Language - isiZulu
Module (Please click on the module to see further information) Pre-requisite/Co-requisite/Recommendation
Group A. Compulsory
AST1631 - General Introduction to Astronomy
BOT2601 - Plant Anatomy, Structure and Function Co-requisite:BOT1501
BOT2603 - Plant Physiology, Water Relations and Plant Nutrition Co-requisite: BOT1501 or BOT1502
GGH2601 - The African Challenge: People and Environment
GGH2603 - The Interpretation of Maps, Aerial Photographs and Satellite Images
PHY1505 - Mechanics (Physics)
TMS3728 - Teaching Natural Sciences in the Senior Phase
TPS2602 - Teaching Practice for Senior Phase II Pre-requisite:TPS2601
Co-requisite:TMS3728 or TMS3708 or TMS3731 or TMS3733 or TMS3720 or TMS3722 or TMS3716 or TMS3726
ZOL2601 - Comparative Animal Physiology Co-requisite:ZOL1501 or ZOL1502
ZOL2602 - Cytogenetics and Embryology Co-requisite:ZOL1501 or ZOL1502
ZOL2604 - Zoology II (Practical) Pre-requisite:ZOL1603 & CHE1501 or CHE1502
Co-requisite:Any two of the following: ZOL2601, ZOL2602 & ZOL2603
Module (Please click on the module to see further information) Pre-requisite/Co-requisite/Recommendation
Group A. Compulsory
CIC2601 - Computer Integration in the classroom
CUS3701 - Curriculum Studies
INC3701 - Inclusive Education
ISC3701 - Instructional studies
PED3701 - Psychology of Education
TAM2601 - Teacher as Manager
TMS3713 - Teaching Geography in Further Education and Training
TPS3703 - Teaching Practice for Senior Phase III Pre-requisite:TPS2602
Co-requisite:TMS3723 or TMS3718 or SDC4701 or TMS3709 or TMS3704 or SDENG3J or TMS3719 or TMS3715 or TMS3714 or SDH4701 or TMS3729 or TMS3730 or TMS3705 or TMS3710 or TMS3716 or TMS3720
ZOL3702 - Ecology Co-requisite:Any two of the following modules: ZOL2601, ZOL2602, ZOL2603
ZOL3703 - Applied Zoology Co-requisite:Any two of the following: ZOL2601, ZOL2602 and ZOL2603
Module (Please click on the module to see further information) Pre-requisite/Co-requisite/Recommendation
Group A. Compulsory
AED3701 - Assessment in Education Pre-requisite:TPN3703 or TPS3703 (not for PGCE)
EDS3701 - Educational studies
EED2601 - Environmental Education
PDU3701 - Philosophy of Education
PES3701 - Physical Education and Sports Coaching
RCE2601 - Research and Critical reason
SAE3701 - South African Education System
SED2601 - Sociology of Education
TMS3723 - Teaching Life Sciences in Further Education and Training
TPS3704 - Teaching Practice for Senior Phase IV Pre-requisite:TPS3703
Co-requisite:TMS3713 or TMS3706 or TMS3704 or TMS3701 or TMS3734 or TMS3718 or TMS3719 or TMS3721 or TMS3725