Elective Courses - Professional Studies
ECP 3160 Play in Early Childhood Education
This course aims at introducing the history, nature, theories and practices of play as integrated learning in early childhood curriculum. It covers the following topics: Values of play for cognitive and social emotional developments; infusing creative expression such as art, music and drama and play into the curriculum; fostering playful learning through formal and informal, indoor and outdoor programmes; teachers’ and students’ perspectives of play; planning and arranging the creative environment and materials for play; and assessing play.
ECP 3320 Social Emotional Development of Children
Fear, anger, sadness, love and attachment, joy and happiness. How are these basic human emotions evolved and how do children acquire and express these emotions and how do they affect child development? This course covers a wide range of theories, perspectives, and practices on the social-emotional development of children. Special attention will be given to the practical implications of the related behavioural and emotional problems often found among school children. These include aggression, school bullying, social withdrawal, low self concept, depression and other internalizing and externalizing difficulties. These topics will be presented with another practical focus on how parents and teachers can help children with these and other social emotional problems.
ECP 3510 Basic Proficiency in Listening and Speaking in Putonghua
This course is designed to introduce Putonghua Phonology and Hanyu Pinyin. The course content includes basic pronunciation training (consonant, vowel, tone, syllable, sound variation analysis and training), listening training (including listening to dialogs pertaining to different occasions) and speaking training (including everyday life communication and social interaction).
ECP 3520 Reading Aloud in Putonghua
This course is intended to introduce reading aloud skills of different types of literary composition. Nursery rhymes, fairy tales and poems will be used as teaching materials in order to advance students’ understanding and appreciation of literary compositions and reinforce their reading aloud and reciting skill.
ECP 4130 Materials and Curriculum Design in Chinese Teaching
This course aims at helping students grasp the principles and methods in selecting and designing Chinese teaching materials. Topics to be discussed include: (1) concepts and theories pertaining to the early childhood curriculum design; (2) the selection and design of principal and supplementary language teaching materials; (3) principles and methods of designing thematic activities and integrated curriculum in language teaching; (4) the design and application of teaching aids and toys for young children; (5) the design and evaluation of school-based curriculum projects.
ECP 4220 Home-school-community Collaboration for School Development
Home-school-community collaboration provides essential resources that teachers can call upon for school improvement. The course aims to help teachers develop the competencies necessary for working with families and communities in order to enhance student learning and school effectiveness. Special emphasis is placed upon better understanding of the dynamics of parent-teacher relationships and the policies and practices of home-school-community collaboration within current educational reforms. Case studies, guest speakers, role play, debate, action plans, and discussion of required readings are woven throughout the sessions in order to equip teachers to: (1) understand parents’ roles in their children’s education; (2) enhance home-school-community communication; (3) improve parental involvement in school activities; and (4) build trusting relationships with parents through their community. Topics include positive communication with parents, parent volunteering in school; parent networks and education, parental involvement in school life and governance and connection with community agencies to promote school improvement.
ECP 4510 Values Education in Early Childhood Education
This course aims to explicate the theoretical foundations of moral education, civic education and environmental education as well as to illuminate the limitations and possibilities of these values education associated with the preschool and educational contexts of Hong Kong. Issues on caring, education for sustainable development, moral meanings in children stories, children’s thinking of selves, moral and social rules, pedagogies for conflict resolution and moral education will be discussed. It serves to help participants reflect on their own values and on the ways they teach values.
ECP 5120 Children’s Literature
In accordance with the age characteristics of readers, children’s literature is generally differentiated into early childhood literature, middle childhood literature and youth literature. With special reference to early childhood literature, this course aims at enlightening participants in the following aspects: (1) the application of theories of language acquisition and reading processes; (2) the nature and educational potentials of children’s literature; (3) the appreciation and creation of children’s literature. By joining this course, participants can acquire a deeper understanding of young children’s language and literature, on the basis of which early childhood education would be facilitated.
ECP 5320 Personal Growth of Teachers
This course aims at promoting among students an interest and readiness for taking charge of their personal development. It draws attention to the significance of mental and physical health, and a number of areas related to teachers’ personal growth. It also provides experiential learning activities to help teachers expand their self-awareness, and identify factors affecting their professional and personal development.
ECP 6520 Current Topics and Advances in Early Childhood Education
This course is to provide students a venue to look into current issues and trends about early childhood education (ECE) in the territorial as well as in the global contexts. It aims to sharp students’ focus on the conceptual and methodological backgrounds of complex issues resulting from demands of the changing society on education system in general and on early childhood education in particular. Topics may include 1) impacts of the territory-wide education reforms and medium of instruction policies on local early childhood education; 2) early literacy and bilingual education; 3) school readiness of kindergarteners; 4) diverse services of early childhood care and inclusive education for children from diverse families; 5) quality criteria to evaluate services of early childhood care and education; 6) impacts of media and IT technologies on early childhood; 7) advances in brain research and ECE and 8) training and development of kindergarten and preschool teachers.
ECP 6530 Independent Study
Students, individually or in small groups, will pursue independent study on approved topics and areas under the supervision of teachers appointed by the Faculty of Education. (A student should only elect this course to fulfill the programme requirements if a required course is not offered within the normative study period of the student, and no other substitute can be found. Prior permission from the Faculty must be sought.)