Programme Information

Programme Aims

On completion of the programme, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate a solid foundation of knowledge and skills in Visual Arts, related academic competencies, and Visual Arts teaching practices to meet their future arts and cultural related career needs;
2. have a passion for professional excellence and are committed to lifelong learning;
3. work collaboratively and ethically with students, parents, colleagues, school administrators and other professionals to promote Visual Arts and related arts education in the primary/secondary school and community; and
4. work across a range of established arts forms and contribute to the promotion and development of the arts and arts education in the local, regional and international cultural and creative industries.

Programme Structure

Education Major – Visual Arts Studies

Education Major emphasizes on the linkage between the fields of visual arts creation and subject-based teaching and learning. This intertwined approach allows students to recognize and appreciate visual arts as a cultural, social and civil entity; and leads them to an understanding of the importance and implications of visual arts education in the development of these areas. Drawing on integrated learning concepts, the courses are structured on the premise that students, when exposed to studio practice, inquiry and discourse, will also develop insights and competence in the classroom teaching of the subject. Inquiry approach in learning and teaching is emphasized in all courses to develop students’ sensitivity, critical thinking and communication proficiency. Through case studies, interaction with people in different community contexts and interactive learning activities, students are trained to communicate ideas effectively and to interpret phenomena in verbal, textual and visual forms. The multidisciplinary activities coherently inform practical art-making and pedagogies.

Discipline Major – Creative Arts and Culture (CAC) Studies

The Discipline Major courses equip students with a broad understanding of the diversity of the arts in the cultural and creative industries. The Foundation Seminar in the Arts and three Foundation Courses expose students to dance, drama, theatre and media. The Compulsory Courses are progressive in nature, with six courses in Cultural Studies and Arts Management. These courses emphasize the significance of the arts and creativity, cultural literacy, arts management, and the interconnectedness between related disciplines beyond the arts. The five Visual Arts Subject Focus courses are designed to sharpen students’ skills and knowledge in the subject discipline and to consolidate students’ understanding of the art form, both theoretically and practically. Students may also select from a spectrum of Major Elective Courses, which address relevant issues concerning the arts in a variety of contexts and settings. These courses adopt an integrative and interdisciplinary approach, underpinned by the belief that the arts relate closely to studies in other disciplines such as Literature, Sociology, and Cultural Theory.

Internship

The Internship is a 6-cp compulsory experiential and professional learning component of the programme. Students are expected to work as an intern in a relevant organization or company for pre-determined period of time. Students can further cultivate skills and knowledge developed during coursework by working within the cultural and creative industries. Through this work-based experience, students can have first-hand exposure to the operations of an organization, and reflect on the practices in the real working environment.

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.

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:

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 16 credit points.

1. General Education Foundation Course (4 cps)

   General Education Foundation Course (GEFC) is a 4-cp course that will run in Semesters 1 and 2, and will be taken by all first-year students at EdUHK. In Semester 1 of Year 1, a new skill-based development/ thematic component is designed to equip students better for their intellectual development in the university context. In Semester 2 of Year 1, students are required to take part in lectures delivered by Chair Professors/ Professors and external Guest Lecturers on a wide variety of themes/ issues focusing on the domains of humanities, social sciences, science and environment. These lectures are substantiated by small class tutorials for the purpose of building communities of dialogue and inquiry that foster the intellectual growth of students.

2. Experiential Learning (3 cps)

   Experiential Learning (EL) consists of a 3-cp Co-curricular and Service Learning Course (CSLC). Students are required to take at least one CSLC starting from Year 1. Courses in Experiential Learning domain can be taken in parallel with Block Practice (BP) I and II (i.e. Field Experience and Experiential Learning Semesters). If that is the case, students need to ensure the course schedule does not clash with BP (students should check the information listed under the course outline and explore the feasibility with course tutors at the beginning of the semester). Students are encouraged to complete courses in EL domain before semester 1 of final year as they will be engaged in BP II and data collection/ field work of Final Year Project in this Semester. Careful academic planning on personal basis is needed.

3. General Education Breadth Courses (6 cps)

   Under the new curriculum (from 2019/20 onwards), the General Education Breadth Courses (GEBCs) (6 cps) are composed of Positive and Values Education (PAVE) Course and General Education Interdisciplinary Course (GEIC) (Level 4). Students have to take one from each of the components in order to fulfill the GEBCs (6 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. In addition, a new 3-cp GEIC (Level 4) will be offered on cross-faculty 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 to make sense of them through dialogues across disciplines.

   Students are allowed to take 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. After the completion of PAVE Course, students are allowed to take the GEIC from Year 2 Semester 2 to Year 3 Semester 1.

4. University ePortfolio (3 cps)

   University ePortfolio is a 3-cp “capstone” course which requires students, when they are approaching the end of their undergraduate studies, to reflect critically on their learning experience within General Education in their disciplinary, professional and co-curricular studies, as well as in their lives beyond graduation, and, to develop an integrated view of how and where they position themselves with respect to their future goals, plans, and aspirations. Students will prepare and submit an annotated University ePortfolio based on their experiences, reflections and stored artifacts from their undergraduate studies. Students are encouraged to keep electronic (soft) copies of all their coursework material starting with the completion of the GEFC for potential inclusion in the University ePortfolio.

   The course will enable students to synthesise their learning experiences, by reflecting critically on the value and significance of what they have learned, making connections to their lives, and imagining their own futures.

   Students are allowed to take the University ePortfolio course after completion of all GEBCs required (i.e. PAVE, GEIC). Also, they have to take the course in the semester of study assigned by individual programmes.

   For detailed information and the course synopsis about General Education courses, please visit the website at www.eduhk.hk/geo.

Final Year Project (Honours Project / Capstone Project)

The Final Year Project comprises of two courses:

• Honours Project I / Capstone Project I: Research Methods and Proposal
• Honours Project II / Capstone Project II: A one-year project usually to be conducted in the final year.

Language Enhancement

From September 2012-13, FT BEd non-language-major students will be required to meet Language Exit Requirements (LERs) for English and Putonghua. The exit benchmarks are IELTS 6.0 (or equivalent) for English, and PSC (Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi) 3B for Putonghua. Students are required to study a comprehensive package of English, Chinese and Putonghua enhancement courses.

English Enhancement Programme (EEP) consists of two credit-bearing courses in Year 1/2. These courses will equip students with academic literacy essential to their study at tertiary level and help them develop general English language proficiency. They will also lay the foundation for students to learn English independently in subsequent years through participation in self-access learning activities, blended learning, and optional language enhancement courses appropriate to their level and developmental needs. In addition, students will be required to study two mandatory non-credit-bearing courses. Optional IELTS preparation workshops will also be offered to familiarize students with the EdUHK-sponsored IELTS after they have completed the EEP.

Students are also required to study three Chinese enhancement courses, and up to two Putonghua enhancement courses depending on their level.

Chinese Enhancement Programme (CEP) consists of one mandatory credit-bearing course and two mandatory non-credit-bearing courses, which provide students with the input on Chinese language skills as well as elements of literature and culture.

Students may be exempted from selected Chinese course in the package if they have fulfilled the exemption criteria of individual courses.

Putonghua Enhancement Programme (PEP)

Students have to take up to two mandatory, non-credit-bearing courses depending on their Putonghua levels at entry via the Tertiary Putonghua Test (TPT), and could opt for other non-credit-bearing Putonghua enhancement courses after Year 1.

Students may be exempted from selected Putonghua courses in the package if they have fulfilled the exemption criteria of individual courses.

Cantonese Enhancement Courses (For non-Cantonese-speaking Chinese students) Non-Cantonese-speaking Chinese students will be required to study two non-credit-bearing Cantonese courses. The successful completion of the Cantonese courses will be recorded in the student's transcript.

For Chinese (including Putonghua) and English, language consultation services and other self-access materials are provided at ASLLC, the self-access language learning centre (these arrangements are subject to changes).

Career Prospects/Professional Qualifications

Graduates of the programme will be creative and disciplined thinkers, fluent in written, oral and visual communication. With professional enthusiasm, students are equipped with specialized subject knowledge, contemporary teaching strategies and skills in curriculum planning for Visual Arts education in both primary and secondary schools. Furthermore, the Internship programme will train students to become cultural expertise who have interdisciplinary knowledge in cross-arts issues and management. Future job/advanced study opportunities are numerous. Our graduates will possess the following qualifications and job/study opportunities:

1. Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in Hong Kong;
2. Ability to work competently in a broad range of positions such as curators for art museums and galleries, administrators of arts organizations, researchers in cultural studies, professional artists, and art educators; and
3. Eligibility to pursue local and overseas higher degree level programmes in education and creative arts disciplines.