Bachelor of Education - Primary Teaching (PT)|2023C1-en

Welcome to SSPD 421 – Personal Development
Bachelor of Education (Primary), Year 4 — Semester 2, 2026

Congratulations on reaching the final year of your Bachelor of Education. Before you step into your own classroom, this course gives you something no other course does: dedicated time to work on you — the person behind the teacher.

Over 15 weeks we will work through five topics that prepare you for the transition from student teacher to beginning teacher: setting personal goals (Weeks 1–3), prioritising time allocation (Weeks 4–5), teacher wellbeing — managing stress, resilience and work-life balance (Weeks 6–9), values and schooling (Weeks 10–12), and reflective practice and self-evaluation for personal growth (Weeks 13–15). Along the way you will write a personal vision for your teaching career, audit how you really spend your time, learn to recognise your own stress signals, work through real ethical dilemmas that Vanuatu teachers face, and finish with a Personal Professional Growth Plan to carry into your first year of teaching.

Please note that Week 8 is a mid-semester study week — no lectures. Use it to continue your journal and revise Weeks 1–7.

Your assessment has three parts:

1. Reflective Journal — Reflections 1–5 (Individual, 50%). One reflection of 400–500 words is due at the end of each topic (Weeks 3, 5, 9, 12 and 15). The complete journal is compiled and handed in with Reflection 5 in Week 15.
2. Oral Presentation — My Transition Plan (Group task, 20%). In groups, you will present your transition plans — goals, timetable and wellbeing plan — in the Week 9 tutorial.
3. Individual Report — Professional Values in Action (Individual, 30%). A 1,500-word analysis of a professional values scenario, due Week 14, Friday 4:30pm.

Full details, guidelines and marking criteria for all three assessments are in the Student Handbook posted below — please read it in Week 1.

This is a practical, participatory course. Expect discussion, role-plays, case studies, and honest self-reflection — the more openly you engage, the more you will gain from it.

Your lecturer this semester is Lynette Tamata. I am looking forward to walking this final stretch with you — the kind of teacher you become begins with the kind of person you choose to be.

Good luck this semester!