Programme Information

Programme Aims

This programme aims to nurture outstanding early childhood educators who:

• are caring, competent and creative professionals;
• demonstrate the disciplinary as well as interdisciplinary knowledge, understanding and disposition required to design, implement and assess quality programmes for children from 0 to 8 years of age
• can work collaboratively with children, parents, colleagues, school administrators and other professionals to address the needs of children and contribute to sustainable development of society;
• are committed to lifelong learning; and
• have a passion for excellence and are committed to the creative improvement of early childhood care and education in Hong Kong.

Programme Features

• The Programme emphasises integration of subject knowledge, professional knowledge and practical abilities.
• The Programme works in partnership with early childhood education institutions to strengthen theory-practice connections through field experience.
• Graduates of this Programme will be qualified for registration with the Education Bureau / Social Welfare Department to teach in licensed early childhood settings in Hong Kong, and meet the professional qualifications required of kindergarten principals and child care supervisors.
• Graduates of this Programme who have successfully completed the specified courses in the Minor in “Diversity in Early Years” and/or the Minor in “Teaching and Learning in International Schools” will be considered as having acquired training on the One-year In-service Course in Special Child Care Work, recognised by the Social Welfare Department and/or earn the International Baccalaureate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, respectively

Programme Structure

Major

In this domain, students focus on early childhood studies, which encompass the foundations of child and family studies and knowledge of the care, nurturing, and education of children from birth to eight years of age.

Education Studies

Education Studies gives students the chance to study teaching and learning from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will study early childhood/school education from psychological, sociological, philosophical, pedagogical and other perspectives. Students will develop a range of skills necessary for professional practice, such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, communication, social interaction, ethical decision making and global perspectives. Education Studies helps students appreciate the importance of professional excellence, ethical responsibility and innovation to the role of a teacher. We aim for our graduates to become beginning teachers who are caring and competent, intellectually enthusiastic, socially committed, and globally aware.

Final Year Project

The Final Year Project comprises of two 3-credit point courses:

• Honours Project I / Capstone Project I: Introduction of research methods and proposal in Year 4 Semester 2.
• Honours Project II / Capstone Project II: A one-year project to be conducted in the final year. Students can choose their topic from either their First Major or Education Studies, and will complete an individual project under the supervision by an academic staff.

1. Honours Project I / Capstone Project I: Research Methods and Proposal (3 cps)

   The course “Honours Project I / Capstone Project I” consists of two parts:

   Part A “Generic Research Methods” (1.5 cps) introduces basic research knowledge and principles of research methods for students to use and/ or conduct research in education and related disciplines, and ethical issues in the research process.

   Part B “Methods for Specific Area in Preparation of Honours Project / Capstone Project” (1.5 cps) prepares students to develop a proposal for conducting a research-based/ project-based study in their chosen areas.

2. Honours Project II: Research Report / Capstone Project II: Project Output (3 cps)

   Honours Project

   The course “Honours Project II” is a continuation of the course Honours Project I. It provides opportunities for students to conduct research independently under the guidance of their supervisors.

   Capstone Project

   The course “Capstone Project II” is a continuation of the course Capstone Project I. It provides opportunities for students to complete an individual project under the guidance of their supervisors.

Field Experience

Students will be placed in schools which are important sites for learning to teach and where they will interpret, generate, interact and experiment with theory:

Electives / Minor/ Second Major

Depending on the learning interest and career aspirations of students as well as the cp distribution of individual programmes, students would be able to study free elective courses from a wide range of disciplines, normally outside their Majors. Students who wish to concentrate their studies on a specific discipline in a more in-depth and robust manner may also opt to study 30 cps to claim a Second Major (or two Minors) or 15 cps for one Minor.

General Education

The EdUHK’s General Education programme prepares students to be active agents of change, by broadening their intellectual horizons, helping them make connections among different areas of knowledge and between their formal studies and life outside the classroom, and strengthening their capacity for sound thinking and good judgement. It offers a varied but balanced mix of individual courses across a range of subject areas and disciplines, set within an integrated structure of (i) General Education Foundation Course, (ii) Experiential Learning , (iii) General Education Breadth Courses, and (iv) University ePortfolio at a total of 22 credit points.

1. General Education Foundation Course (4 cps)

   General Education Foundation Course (GEFC) is a 4-credit point course that will run in Semesters 1 and 2, and will be taken by all first year students at EdUHK. The purpose of the course is to introduce first year students to a range of disciplines and methodologies from the perspectives of senior academics who are experts in their respective fields.

2. General Education Breadth Courses (3 x 3 cps)

   Under the new curriculum (from 2019/20 onwards), the General Education Breadth Courses (GEBCs) (9 cps) are composed of General Education Breadth Learning Strands (1-3) (GELS) (Level 1-2), Positive and Values Education (PAVE) Course and General Education Interdisciplinary Course (GEIC) (Level 4), students have to take one of each component for fulfilling the GEBCs (9 cps) requirement.

   These courses aim to equip students better for the study of the ontological, epistemological and/or methodological issues in a wide variety of disciplines. Side by side with these existing components, a new 3-cp GEIC (Level 4) will be offered on cross-faculty and/ or cross-departmental basis for students from Year 2 Semester 2 to Year 3 Semester 1, in order to enable them to appreciate the complexity of issues and problems that transcend disciplinary boundaries and make sense of them through dialogues across or integration of disciplines.

   Students are allowed to take GELS and PAVE Course after the completion of GEFC or concurrently with GEFC in Year 1 Semester 2 if they are interested and their curriculum schedules allow. Students need to complete any course in the GELS or PAVE Course before taking the GEIC from Year 2 Semester 2 and Year 3 Semester 1.

3. Experiential Learning (2 x 3 cps)

   Experiential Learning (EL) is composed of a 3-cp Co-curricular Service Learning Course (CSLC) and a 3-cp Experiential Learning Course (ELC) which will be offered by departments under the GE domain. Students have to take one of each component for fulfilling the EL (6 cps) requirement.

   The 3-cp CSLC provides students with an opportunity to engage in learning in action and through co-curricular learning activities with direct service elements in real-life or work-place context while complementing, connecting with, and mirroring their learning experiences derived from formal curriculum. The 3-cp ELC encourages students to learn through experimentation, observation, reflection and (re-) conceptualization while undertaking a wide variety of activities, such as creative work, field studies, projects, thematic overseas trips, outward-bound training etc. These courses enrich students’ learning experiences and skills through learning, thinking and reflecting on practice, in practice and for practice, while exposing them to authentic and real-life contexts.

   CSLCs and ELCs will be made available for all undergraduate students to be taken starting from Year 1 and completed before final year.

4. University ePortfolio (3 cps)

   University ePortfolio is a 3-credit point "capstone" course which requires students approaching the end of their undergraduate studies both to reflect critically on their undergraduate study experiences - within General Education, in their disciplinary, professional, co-curricular studies, positive and values education, and in their lives beyond the classroom - and to develop an integrated view of how and where they position themselves in relation to their future goals, plans, and aspirations. Students will prepare and submit annotated ePortfolios based on their experiences, reflections and stored artefacts from their undergraduate studies. The course will enable students to recap on and synthesize their undergraduate learning experiences, by examining what they understand about critical thinking and how they apply critical thinking. Students are allowed to take the University ePortfolio course after completion of all General Education Breadth Courses required. Also, they have to take the University ePortfolio course in the semester of study assigned by individual programmes.

Language Enhancement

Students take two mandatory credit-bearing English enhancement courses during the first two years of studies as part of the English enhancement programme. These two courses will equip students with the academic literacy skills essential to their study at tertiary level. They will also receive 60 hours of mandatory non-credit-bearing English enhancement courses in Year 1 and 2. Optional IELTS preparation workshops will be held periodically on demand.

Besides, students are also required to study three Chinese enhancement courses and up to two Putonghua enhancement courses depending on their level. The Chinese enhancement programme consists of one mandatory credit-bearing course in Year 1 and two mandatory non-credit-bearing courses in subsequent semesters, which provide students with the input on Chinese language skills as well as elements of literature and culture. The Putonghua enhancement programme consists of two mandatory non-credit-bearing courses in Year 1. In addition, students can take up to 120 hours of optional non-credit-bearing Putonghua course after Year 1.

Career Prospects/Professional Qualifications

Graduates of the programme:

1. will be qualified for registration with the Education Bureau / Social Welfare Department to teach in licensed early childhood settings in Hong Kong;
2. will possess the degree-level professional qualification that is in great demand in the early childhood education sector;
3. will have the ability to work competently in a broad range of positions that involve working with children and families; and
4. may teach in early childhood settings overseas, subject to the registration requirements of the relevant local authorities.