Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Early Childhood Education)

The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)

Programme Aims

This programme aims to nurture outstanding early childhood educators who:

• are competent and creative professionals;
• demonstrate the 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 pupils, parents, colleagues, school administrators and other professionals;
• 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.
• Partnerships with early childhood education institutions to strengthen theory-practice connections through field experience.
• Graduates of this Programme who successfully complete the specified courses in the Minor in Specialized Themes in Early Years Education 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.
• Graduates of this Programme who successfully complete the Minor in Teaching and Learning in International Schools can earn the International Baccalaureate (IB) Certificate in Teaching and Learning.

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.

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.

Career Prospects/Professional Qualifications

Graduates of the programme:

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