Discretionary Pathway Applications
When an application is being considered through the Discretionary Pathway the applicant provides material
and evidence to enable the members of the Panel to make a professional judgement that on the weight of
evidence supplied the applicant is, amongst other things, satisfactorily trained to teach.
Applicants who apply through this pathway are sent a communication outlining the type of material to
provide.
This material is considered using the following decision-making framework.
Evidence
Preferably
a) Appropriate tertiary qualification(s) awarded by a Comparable to Level 7, 8 or 9 on the New Zealand Qualifications
recognised institution
Framework (NZQF) as assessed by NZQA. This is recorded on the
Qualifications Assessment Report. Qualifications comparable to
Level 6 will be considered on an exceptional basis only.
b) Relevant teacher education visible within these
At least 1000 hours of teaching professional studies. Information
qualifications eg.
for this is found in the academic transcripts. The hours are
Pedagogy/professional studies/curriculum
usual y identified by a standard code identifying credit value
teaching etc.
equal ing hours of study. In New Zealand it is accepted 10 hours
of work equates to one credit (it is commonly accepted to be 1/3
face to face, 2/3 independent study) ie 120 credits = 1200 hours
c) Supervised teaching practicum of at least 10
Significant amount of this completed in the compulsory education
weeks in reasonable blocks of time
sector (0-20 year age group)
d) Relevant recent teaching service in the public
Significant amount of this completed in the compulsory education
education service of the country of origin
sector (0-20 year age group) and there is evidence of this service
being appraised as satisfactory.
e) References/testimonial and comments related
These should be on institution letterhead. If the applicant has
to
Standards for the Teaching Profession/
held a senior position (HOD/senior management) and supplied
Graduating Teacher Standards
satisfactory appraisal material they could be considered for the
category of certification of Tomua OS (counting one year of
overseas mentoring)
f) Professional development activities undertaken
Reflect continuing education and professional development.
NB: where a person has completed their qualification containing elements of teacher education was completed
more than five years ago and the applicant does not have service acceptable to the Council (usual y two years within
the last five years) then wil general y be required to complete the Teacher Education Refresh (TER) Programme. A
judgement as to whether a person has acceptable service wil be assessed based on their appraisal documentation,
support from professional leaders and professional development completed.
To make these judgements primary and secondary documents are considered, including analysing
under the Official Information Act
academic transcripts for subjects (especially their relevance to New Zealand curriculum documents), hours
of study (especially of pedagogical subjects), background material about providers and programmes, and
making further requests for information from NZQA and other Australasian Teacher Regulatory Authorities
(ATRA) assessment officers.
To gain registration applicants need to have qualification(s) that contain sufficient elements of tertiary level
professional teaching studies and satisfactory teaching practice.
Once the Panel is satisfied that sufficient evidence has been provided to make a decision to decline,
approve or approve an application with conditions, the recommendation will be confirmed.
If the Panel can make a judgement, but a requirement has not been met (or where sufficient evidence has
Released
not been provided to make an assessment) then a decision can be made to grant registration and a
practising certificate subject to a particular condition being met. Typical y, conditions will relate to the
language competency requirements, an applicant completing the TER programme (or information being
provided that enables the assessment of whether this is required) or satisfactory overseas police clearance
certificates being provided.
Panel members and representation
The Panel must be made up of at least four Council staff members for a decision to be reached. Two of the
four must be senior staff members and there needs to be at least one member of at least two different
teams (eg. the Registration and Teacher Education teams) participating in the meetings.
Further notes
The granting of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in the United Kingdom is not comparable to an initial
teacher education qualification required for teacher registration in New Zealand.
Employment-based pathways which do not lead to the award of a qualification by an accredited institution
(as recognised by NZQA) will not be recognised as satisfactory for Initial Teacher Education for the purpose
of teacher registration (as agreed by the Council in 2007).
under the Official Information Act
Released
