The Faculty of Education is a community of faculty members, students, and staff members who are passionate about improving education for our children, and who is committed to serving and leading the education community through teaching and instruction, innovative research endeavors, and timely development and service projects.
The Faculty has been a leading centre for teacher training in Hong Kong. The Faculty began its teacher-training mission in 1965 with the Postgraduate Diploma-in-Education Programme (PGDE). In more than 40 years, the Faculty has grown considerably and is now offering a full-spectrum of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for beginning and experienced teachers, as well as educational professionals in different career development stages. Through these programmes, we aim to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills, and competence needed in today's classrooms and beyond; cultivate teachers' devotion to teaching as a life-long vocation; and nurture educational leaders and researchers.
Excellence in research is an important goal of the Faculty. The Faculty of Education has been a vibrant and productive research center. For instance, funded research and development projects of the Faculty in 2014 aggregated to more than HK$160,000,000 (counting only funded projects that are active in 2014), including 18 projects funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC). The various projects conducted by our colleagues address issues salient to education in local and international settings, generate knowledge that informs educational policy and practice, and develop interventions that aim to improve school functioning and student learning.
Students are very important to the Faculty. We hope that graduates of our programmes are reflective agents who constantly seek to grow professionally and to improve the quality of their work. We aim to train our students to become present and future leaders in their chosen field of study, who could serve with creativity and imagination. We value a strong teacher-student relationship and faculty members work very closely with students to facilitate their learning needs. To many students and graduates, the Faculty is the place where their vision and commitment to the field of education are inspired and cultivated.
The Faculty works with teachers and schools closely and collaboratively. Our resolve is that we have to contribute to education in Hong Kong. We have enjoyed the partnerships with primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Many of our research and development projects are anchored in school settings, and seek to serve and support teachers and schools.
Education in China is also at the front of our concern. Colleagues of the Faculty are engaged in research and training activities in China, often in collaboration with universities, research institutions, and school districts. We are constantly looking for opportunities that we could contribute to the development of education in China, and to use our expertise to fill in existing research and training gaps.
It is my and our vision that the Faculty of Education at CUHK should become a leading center for research and training in education in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, and the wider world community. We are committed to make a difference in education through our first-rate training programmes, our innovative research, and our responsive participation in the education community.