Page 20 - FSTE A5 Handbook

Chapter One
The Emergence of General Education as
an Integral Part of Undergraduate Studies

Articulation Experience and the Study
To understand better the current practices of GE in both UGC-funded and self-financed
institutions and to gain insights into better articulation arrangements for sub-degree holders
who compete for the senior-year intake places, this publication aims to:
(1) Describe the GE curricula as they are practised in the UGC-funded universities and the
self-financed post-secondary education institutions in Hong Kong;
(2) Review the way in which the GE component is aligned across sub-degree and degree
programmes for credit transfer possibilities;
(3) Describe the experiences of senior-year students in fulfilling the GE requirements in
their degree studies; and
(4) Evaluate the GE practices across sub-degree and degree programmes for ways to
facilitate the articulation arrangements between the UGC-funded and self-financed
sectors that promote student-centred learning among senior-year entrants.
Recognizing that the self-financed post-secondary sector has, over the past decade, rapidly
expanded into a complex system comprising broadly diversified programmes, the target of
this study focuses on the community colleges which offer associate degree programmes with
articulation intention to the UGC-funded universities. To make a distinction from the post-
education sector in general, collectively they will be referred as “community college sector”.
What follows is an overview of how GE has emerged to become an integral part of higher
education in Hong Kong for setting the context for the issues under study.
Defining GE

The terms “liberal education”, “liberal arts” and “General Education” are often loosely or
interchangeably used in the writings about higher education (Logan & Curry, 2015; Thompson,
2014; Xing, Ng & Cheng, 2013), but we will clarify the relationships of these terms prior to
examining the meanings of GE in its contemporary usage.
In examining the collegiate function of community colleges, Cohen and Brawer (1987) traced
the place of the liberal arts in the history of higher education development in the United
States. The definition of liberal arts was modified from its original meaning of an education
suitable for a “free man” to include the inculcation of the “higher” culture relevant to the
th
learned professions. It was in the late 19 century that the liberal arts were codified as discrete
subjects of study such as social sciences, physical sciences, literature and mathematics. As
professional training has taken greater precedence in college education, the liberal arts were
broadly categorized to “include any academically or intellectually defensible area of course
work other than one leading to immediate employment” (Cohen & Brawer, 1987). It is argued
that the liberal arts could help acculturate new generations to the dominant American culture

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