Regulations for the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary)

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 (In-service entry)
2.1	To enter the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) 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 by a Hong Kong secondary school, either (a) as a full-time teacher in the subject strand selected, or (b) as a full-time teaching assistant with classroom teaching duties for at least 5 periods per cycle in the subject strand selected.
Pathways 4 and 5 (Pre-service entry)
2.2	To enter the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) programme – Pathways 4 and 5, a student shall normally:
	2.2.1	have a recognized Bachelor’s degree; and
	2.2.2	have substantial study of the subject of the strand selected at undergraduate or postgraduate levels; and
	2.2.3	have 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	be able to get the consent of a local secondary school for fulfilling the teaching practice requirements; and
	2.2.5	have satisfactory performance in School selection interviews.

3.	Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) (PGDES1/PGDES4)
3.1	To be eligible for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary), 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 40 credits, of which 30 credits are at Postgraduate level, as prescribed by the regulations.
3.2	For the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary), the University has prescribed that a student must obtain 40 credits from the courses in Table 1 according to the strand selected. To fulfil the requirements, a student must:
	3.2.1	complete 10 credits in core educational studies (labelled CE in Table 1) [alternatively, for students registered before 2005, 20 credits in Educational Studies (labelled ES)]; and
	3.2.2	complete 20 credits labelled MT, CT and ET for the Mathematics, Chinese and English strands respectively; and
	3.2.3	complete 10 credits in Professional Issues (labelled PI in Table 1); and
	3.2.4	fulfil the practicum requirements in courses EDU E861B, EDU E862C, EDU E863/EDU E865 and EDU E870C/EDU E872C.

4.	Special pathways for OUHK graduates (PGDES2/PGDES3/PGDES5)
4.1	There are two special pathways to fulfilling the requirements of Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary). 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 of the following courses: EDU E361/EDU E362C/EDU E363. To fulfil the requirements of the programme and strand structure, all the 40 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 (Secondary).
4.2	The first pathway (PGDES3) is for OUHK graduates entering the programme through in-service entry, who have used 10 credits from the courses in Table 1 as part of their previous qualification. A student following this pathway must obtain 30 credits of courses at Postgraduate level and 10 credits from the following courses: EDU E351C Learning for All (10 credits), ENGL E200 English for Effective Communication II: Reading and Writing (5 credits), ENGL E210 English for Effective Communication II: Listening and Speaking (5 credits), CHIN E230C Effective Use of Chinese II (5 credits), PTH E250C Effective Use of Putonghua (5 credits) or EDU E220C Education and Society (5 credits).
4.3	The second pathway (PGDES5) is for OUHK graduates entering the programme through pre-service entry who have used 10 credits from the courses in Table 1 as part of their previous qualification. A student following this pathway must obtain 30 credits of courses at Postgraduate level and 10 credits from the following courses: EDU E351C Learning for All (10 credits), ENGL E200 English for Effective Communication II: Reading and Writing (5 credits), ENGL E205 Preparing for IELTS (5 credits), ENGL E210 English for Effective Communication II: Listening and Speaking (5 credits), CHIN E230C Effective Use of Chinese II (5 credits), PTH E250C Effective Use of Putonghua (5 credits) or EDU E220C Education and Society (5 credits).
4.4	Students who entered the programme before 2005 using the old pathway (PGDES2) may follow the pre-2005 programme structure or follow the new PGDES1 pathway.

Table 1

Course Code	Course Title	Credits	PGDES
Educational Studies
EDU E854C^1,5	The Learner, Learning and the School Curriculum	10	CE
EDU E252 ^1,4	Educational Psychology	10	ES
EDU E252C ^1,4	Educational Psychology	10	ES
EDU E850C^1,4,5	Curriculum and Assessment	10	ES
Pedagogy
EDU E361	Teaching Mathematics in Secondary Schools	10	MT
EDU E861B^2,3	Professional Skills: Teaching Mathematics	10	MT
EDU E362C	Teaching Chinese in Secondary Schools	10	CT
EDU E862C ^2,3	Professional Skills: Teaching Chinese	10	CT
EDU E363	Teaching English in Secondary Schools	10	ET
EDU E863 ^2,4,6	Professional Skills: Teaching English	10	ET
EDU E865 ^2,3,6	English Language Teaching: Professional Skills	10	ET
Professional Issues
EDU E872C^1,2,3,7	Professional Issues in School Teaching	10	PI
EDU E870C ^1,2,4,7	Professional Issues in Secondary School Teaching	10	PI

Notes:

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.
PGDES1/PGDES3 students should complete one of EDU E861B, EDU E862C or EDU E865 before enrolling in EDU E872C. PGDES4/PGDES5 students should either complete one of EDU E861B, EDU E862C or EDU E865 before enrolling in EDU E872C or enroll in one of EDU E861B, EDU E862C or EDU E865 at the same time as EDU E872C.
Courses no longer available.
EDU E854C has replaced EDU E850C.
EDU E865 has replaced EDU E863.
EDU E872C has replaced EDU E870C.

October 2017