Regulations for the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary)

1.	General
1.1	These regulations are made under paragraphs 1 to 4 of the Regulations for the Award of Postgraduate Diplomas and Certificates.
1.2	In these regulations definitions shall apply as in the Regulations for the Award of Postgraduate Diplomas and Certificates and in the Interpretation Section of the Academic Rules and Regulations.

2.	Entry Requirements
Pathways 1, 2 and 3
2.1	To enter the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary) programme – Pathways 1, 2 and 3, a student shall normally:
	2.1.1	have a recognized Bachelor’s degree; and
	2.1.2	be currently employed or be about to be employed as a full-time primary school teacher in Hong Kong in the relevant school teaching subjects (see note 1 to Table 1); or be currently employed on a full-time basis by a primary school in Hong Kong as a teaching assistant with classroom teaching duties for at least four periods per week in the relevant school teaching subjects (see note 1 to Table 1).
Pathways 4, 5 and 6
2.2	To enter the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary) programme – Pathways 4, 5 and 6, a student shall normally have:
	2.2.1	a relevant recognized Bachelor’s degree; or
	2.2.2	a recognized Bachelor’s degree and another relevant qualification; and
	2.2.3	a Grade E/Level 2 or above in English Language [or Grade C or above in English Language (Syllabus A)] and Chinese Language in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination/Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, or equivalent; and
	2.2.4	satisfactory performance in School selection interviews.

3.	Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary) (PGDEP1/PGDEP4)
3.1	To be eligible for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary), a student shall:
	3.1.1	comply with the Regulations for Admission, Registration and Maintenance of Status; and
	3.1.2	comply with the Regulations for the Award of Postgraduate Diplomas and Certificates; and
	3.1.3	have been deemed to satisfy in full the specified entry requirements for the programme of study; and
	3.1.4	obtain at least 50 credits, of which 30 credits are at Postgraduate level, as prescribed by the regulations.
3.2	For the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary), the University has prescribed that a student must obtain 50 credits from the courses in Table 1. To fulfil the requirements, a student must:
	3.2.1	complete 30 credits in Professional Studies and Practicums (labelled PSP and CS in Table 1); or
	3.2.2	complete 30 credits in Professional Studies and Practicums (labelled PSP in Table 1); and
	3.2.3	fulfil the practicum requirements for courses EDU E841C and EDU E872C in the two teaching subject courses completed in 3.2.4; and
	3.2.4	complete 20 credits in Pedagogy (labelled E2 in Table 1).

4.	Special pathways for OUHK graduates (PGDEP2/PGDEP3/PGDEP5/PGDEP6)
4.1	There are two special pathways to fulfilling the requirements of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary) (PGDEP1/PGDEP4). They apply only to students who are graduates of The Open University of Hong Kong and have used as part of the credits for their previous qualifications one or more of the following courses: EDU E331C/ EDU E332/ EDU E333C/ EDU E334C/ EDU E335C/ EDU E336C/ EDU E339C. Except that students following the special pathways need only obtain an additional 40 credits instead of 50 credits, they shall comply with the regulations in Section 3 above. To fulfil the requirements of the programme, all the 50 credits as specified in Section 3.2 and Table 1 must be completed through a combination of the relevant course(s) in students’ previous qualifications and the courses studied for the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary).
4.2	The first pathway (PGDEP2/PGDEP5) is for OUHK graduates who have used 10 credits from the courses in Table 1 as part of their previous qualification. A student following this pathway must obtain 40 of the 50 credits specified in Section 3.2 and need not repeat the 10-credit course already completed.
4.3	The second pathway (PGDEP3/PGDEP6) is for OUHK graduates who have used 20 credits from the courses in Table 1 as part of their previous qualifications. A student following this pathway must obtain 30 credits of courses at Postgraduate level and 10 credits from the following courses: EDU E311C Educational Administration, EDU E313C Special Needs in Education, EDU E314C Educational and Information Technology, EDU E331C Primary School Teaching: Chinese, EDU E332 Primary School Teaching: English, EDU E333C Primary School Teaching: Mathematics, EDU E334C Primary School Teaching: General Studies, EDU E335C Primary School Teaching: Music, EDU E336C Primary School Teaching: Visual Arts, EDU E339C Primary School Teaching: Putonghua, EDU E220C Education and Society (5 credits), or CHIN E230C Effective Use of Chinese II (5 credits ).

Table 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credits	PGDEP
Professional Studies and Practicums
EDU E841C ^3,6,7	Professional Skills: Primary School Teaching	10	PSP
EDU E854C ^2,4	The Learner, Learning and the School Curriculum	10	CS
EDU E872C^2,3,5,6,7	Professional Issues in School Teaching	10	CS
EDU E840C ^2,4,8	The Child, Learning and the Curriculum	10	PSP
EDU E842C ^2,5,8	Professional Issues in Primary School Teaching	10	PSP
Pedagogy
EDU E331C	Primary School Teaching: Chinese	10	E2
EDU E332²	Primary School Teaching: English	10	E2
EDU E333C	Primary School Teaching: Mathematics	10	E2
EDU E334C	Primary School Teaching: General Studies	10	E2
EDU E335C ⁸	Primary School Teaching: Music	10	E2
EDU E336C ⁸	Primary School Teaching: Visual Arts	10	E2
EDU E339C	Primary School Teaching: Putonghua	10	E2

Notes:

These subjects are: English Language, Chinese Language, Putonghua, Mathematics, General Studies, Visual Art and Music. Applicants should be teaching for at least four periods per week in any subject in order to be considered as teaching the subject.
Courses form excluded combinations with other courses. Only one of the courses of the excluded combinations can count towards an OUHK award. Students should refer to the list of excluded combinations for details.
These courses include teaching practicums as an integral part of the assessment.
EDU E854C has replaced EDU E840C.
EDU E872C has replaced EDU E842C.
PGDEP1/PGDEP2/PGDEP3 students should complete EDU E841C before enrolling in EDU E872C. PGDEP4/PGDEP5/PGDEP6 students should either complete EDU E841C before enrolling in EDU E872C or enroll in EDU E841C at the same time as EDU E872C.
The classroom subjects (See note 1 above) for teaching practice supervision must be different for EDU E841C and EDU E872C in order to fulfil the practicum requirements of these two courses.
Courses no longer available.

October 2017