A Study Of General Education Curriculum In American Community Colleges

In the late 1970s, community colleges in the US embraced a comprehensive innovation of general education. To begin with, this innovation has defined the significance and value of general education in community college, which referred to that, general education, will cultivate essential attributes of a modern citizen, such as knowledge, skills, attitude and aesthetics appreciation. The greatest value of general education is to help students to equip themselves with knowledge, experience, skills, values and attitudes, so as to bring out their best potentials. Secondly, through the innovation, community colleges has specified the aims of general education, translated it into detailed and concrete learning objectives and outcomes, and ultimately institutionalized, implemented and assessed the general curriculum. Finally, the innovation indicated the importance of integration of vocational education and general education, emphasized general education in vocational education programs, and developed a relatively integrated curriculum of general education. The innovation of general education in community college, so to speak, has set up a new pattern of US community college's general education. According to analysis of educational aims, curriculum content, implementation, and assessment, as well as the system of general education in vocational education programs, this paper synthesizes four features of general education in community colleges, which are practicable and assessable education aims, integrated curriculum system, assessment with a focus on learning outcomes, and integration of general education and vocational education.At the present time, the combination of vocational and general education has become the trend in development of global vocational education. A number of vocational and polytechnic colleges in China have been aware of the significance of emphasizing general education in vocational education process. Hopefully, through the implementation of general education, they can bring up high-quality practical talents with wide range of knowledge, strong adaptability, creativity and practical skills in such a life long learning and mobile employment background. However, in the process of implementing general education, vocational and polytechnic colleges in China encountered several problems, which are, unclear aims of general education, arbitrary settings of general education curriculum, and lack of efficient implementation and assessment strategies. For the implementation of general education in Chinese vocational and polytechnic colleges, those successful experiences from American community college's general education may be enlightenment as good references and examples to learn from.