In drawing up the Plan and mapping out its four strategic thrusts,
the Institute was keenly aware of key developments in the wider
social context. At the same time, the Institute will work towards
attaining the "University" title, which supports the
community's desire for the upgrading of the teaching profession
and better reflects the status that the Institute has achieved.
Given the changing needs and rising aspirations of the community,
the Institute's core mission is to instil in our students
not only the necessary skills and competencies, but also a
commitment to education, a caring attitude towards the students
they will teach as well as the skills to contribute to the
well being of society.
To this end, the Institute has introduced an innovative standard
Core Curriculum. It was piloted and applied initially to the
Bachelor of Education (BEd) (Early Childhood Education)(Honours)
programme in 2005-06 and now applies to all four-year full-time
BEd (Honours) programmes in 2006-07.
This Curriculum consists of core components across all BEd
(Honours) programmes, accompanied by specialist components
that meet the particular professional needs of different groups.
Through the Curriculum, which consists of Discipline Studies,
Professional Studies, General Education, Complementary Studies
and Field Experience, student teachers will be equipped with
a greater breadth and depth of knowledge for their future
careers.
To further broaden their education experience, all BEd language
students are provided with the opportunity to attend a language
immersion programme outside Hong Kong for one semester. Over
the course of their studies, all full-time pre-service undergraduate
students will have at least one exchange programme or study
tour.
As an ongoing effort to enable students to obtain the best
out of campus life, hostel residence became compulsory for
all first-year full-time pre-service students in 2005-06.
This experience encourages their personal development as the
students can acquire enhanced inter-personal and problem-solving
skills through living together and making decisions for themselves.
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