Graduate School of Education, U.K.

A two-year part-time programme of study in Hong Kong leading to the UK MEd degree of Bristol University.

INTRODUCTION

The University of Bristol in association with City University of Hong Kong presents a two-year programme of part-time, face-to-face study in Hong Kong in Education Management leading to a UK Master's degree. The programme will be taught by Bristol University staff supplemented by an Associate Tutor who is based in Hong Kong, and will not require residency in the UK.

The programme is designed for educators with not less than one year's professional experience who wish to develop their knowledge and understanding of Education Management.

University of Bristol

University of Bristol, which was founded in 1876, is internationally acknowledged as one of the UK's leading universities. In recent teaching and research assessment exercises the University has performed exceptionally well with most of its principal departments being regarded as national or international centres of research and teaching excellence. The Graduate School of Education itself received a top research grade of "5*" and the maximum score of 24 out of 24 for the quality of its teaching. (Click here for details)

The University is very well supported by the major Research Councils and Foundations and is able to attract an increasing amount of research funding from non-governmental, industrial sources.

The Graduate School of Education

The Graduate School of Education, which traces its history back to over 100 years has been offering a Master's degree in Education Management for many years and its alumni are to be found in senior educational leadership positions throughout the UK and in over 30 countries world-wide. The Graduate School is one of the leading centres for study and research in Education in Britain. It offers a wide range of programmes at certificate, Master's (MEd & MSc) and Doctoral (EdD & PhD) levels as well as short in-service courses and consultancies. A postgraduate certificate course which involves close working with and in UK secondary schools caters for about 235 graduates each year who wish to enter the teaching profession.

Each year, about 130 teachers and educational administrators from over 30 countries are taking full-time programmes leading to higher degrees alongside a greater number taking their degrees part-time. As well as Hong Kong, the MEd degree has also been offered in Norway, Malaysia and Argentina. Through its Centre for International Studies in Education, the Graduate School has had a strong international involvement over more than 40 years, which currently extends to four continents and includes major links with governments and academic institutions in many countries. Major externally funded research and development projects have been carried out in Belize, Malaysia, Poland and South Africa.

The Graduate School of Education offers two postgraduate programmes in Hong Kong in association with School of Continuing and Professional Education, CityU. They are the Master of Education (MEd) specializing in Education Management and the Doctor of Education (EdD).

Master of Education Specialising in Education Management

Programme Aims & Objectives

The MEd degree aims to:

Extend and deepen student's knowledge
Develop students' understanding of specific theories, ideas and practices, and the relationships between perspectives from different disciplines
Develop students intellectual, practical and transferable skills
Encourage students to develop as reflective practitioners
Provide clear and effective structures for the organization of teaching and for student's learning

On completing the MEd degree, participants should:

Have a breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding in their subject area which will provide a firm foundation on which to build future professional development
Have developed a range of relevant intellectual, practical and transferable skills appropriate to professional practice including personal reflection
Have developed their capacities in critical thinking: description, analysis, synthesis and evaluation
Understand the complex issues surrounding innovation and change and be prepared for changing and varied employment
Have demonstrated their knowledge, skills and abilities to engage in focused, professionally relevant independent learning through the production of a supervised dissertation

The Structure of the Degree ^

The degree consists of 180 credit points, 120 of which are gained through coursework and 60 derive from a dissertation. The Taught course component comprises 7 units, 6 of 15 credit points and one of 30 credit points. 6 units will be taught on an intensive basis during weekends (normally on Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays) in term time while the rest will be presented in monthly evening meetings which will offer continuing support to Students throughout their studies. Each 15 credit points unit consists of contact time of 15 hours (while the 30 point unit has 30 hours of contact time) and a written assignment normally of approximately 3,000 words.

^ The curriculum is under review

The Programme

Unit 1: Action Research for Education Managers (30 credtis) (Sep 08 - Apr 09)

Unit 2: Managing Educational Change (Nov 08)

Unit 3: Managing People (Jan 09)

Unit 4: Contemporary Perspectives on Learning (Mar 09)

Unit 5: Quality and Improvement in Education (May 09) This unit is designed for those interested in designing, managing and delivering quality education in all fields. It will review research and experience relating to effectiveness and improvement in educational settings and consider the implications for policy and practice. It will focus on research into the organizational factors that correlate with effective outcomes and consider strategies for promoting quality and improvement at local, national and organizational level. Students will be invited to draw on their own experiences and critically reflect on the usefulness of the theoretical and conceptual ideas discussed.

Unit 6: Introduction to Educational Research Methods (Jul 09)

Unit 7: Managing Self (May - Dec 09)

The Dissertation

You will also submit a dissertation, not exceeding 15,000 words in length, on a topic in the area of education management, which you choose in consultation with a tutor. The dissertation, which will normally involve a small-scale empirical enquiry, provides you with a major opportunity to explore in some depth a topic of relevance to your professional practice. A short non-assessed unit on writing a dissertation will be provided before you begin work on your dissertation. This unit considers what is involved in doing the dissertation. The unit will answer such questions as: how to choose a topic; how to turn that into a realistic research project; how to undertake empirical research and of what type; what data collection techniques to use; how to analyse the data you have collected; and how to write it all up. There will be opportunities for you to discuss your plans with the Dissertation General Supervisor for the MEd programme.

Admission requirements

For direct admission to the MEd degree, applicants must hold a honours degree or a Bristol Diploma of Advanced Studies in Education or the equivalent of one of these. They must also have had a minimum of one year's appropriate professional experience.

Non-graduates with a teaching or other professional qualification and a minimum of one year's professional experience will be provisionally registered for the MEd. Such students will have their registration confirmed upon completion of four assignments at an appropriate standard and the completed units will be counted towards the MEd degree.

Library

Students will have reading and borrowing rights at the City University library.

Tutorial Support via the Internet

Each student will be assigned an Internet account in order that they may contact Bristol-based tutors concerning assignments.

Fees

Application Fee: HK$140 (non-refundable)

Full course fee: HK$96,000, to be paid in 3 instalments
1st instalment: HK$38,000 (due upon admission)
2nd instalment: HK$32,000 (due February 2008)
3rd instalment: HK$26,000 (due September 2008)
Caution money: HK$400 (due upon admission)

In case of reassessments and dissertation extension, additional fees will be charged.

Application Procedure

Completed application form and application fee of HK$140 in the form of a crossed cheque made payable to "City University of Hong Kong" should be sent to

Ms Becky Lau
School of Continuing and Professional Education
City University of Hong Kong
Tat Chee Avenue
Kowloon
Hong Kong

Applicant should send a reference form to one named referee and ask that it be completed and sent to School of Continuing and Professional Education, City University of Hong Kong.

Application Deadline

1 Septmeber 2008

Enquiries

Tel: 2784 3236/2784 3235
Fax: 2788 7088
Email: cebecky@cityu.edu.hk

Use of Application Information

The information that you provided in the application will be used for the following purposes:

as a basis for various types of processing in relation to your application;
as a basis for selection of applicants for admission to the programme offered by the University of Bristol and other relevant or related purposes;
for obtaining from the relevant institutions information about your candidature for studies in institutions in Hong Kong and elsewhere;
for transferring to student record system of the University upon successful outcome of your application;
in accordance of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, you have the right to access to, and correction of, the information contained in the application form, and the right to request a copy of such data. If you wish to obtain more information, please write to the School of continuing and Professional Education.

Education Loan

Successful applicants are eligible to apply for the Government's Non-means Tested Loan Scheme. Application forms are obtainable from District Offices and the Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA).

Enquiries: 2150 6223

Web site: www.info.gov.hk/sfaa

The MEd is governed by the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (ref. no. 450291). It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognise any qualification to which this programme may lead.

Updated on: 13 Feb 2008