A Study On American Research Universities’ General Education

With the progress and development of science and technology, the social demand for talent has been gradually from the professional skills to the innovation type and general type, in recent years, the higher education sector in the world have gradually turned to focus on the general education reform and exploration. American Research University as a world-class university, the general education started earlier, in the premise and maintain their unique style, gradually mature, and accumulated rich theoretical and practical experience, the refinement of the general education reform became the object of higher education in the world for reference.This paper mainly conducts the research from three aspects of history, current situation and tendency of USA research universities’ general education. First of all, the author studies the American research universities’ general education history, and divides the development process into three stages(bud and early stage, establishment of deepening and prosperity, and Reform); secondly, from the three aspects of the type of curriculum, course content and teaching method are described and the research on its current situation; finally, prediction of eight general education development trend of research universities in America. The author thinks, the general education in the future road will become more clear, and the development of general education, it will promote the cultivation of innovative talents, to deliver more complete and have a sense of social responsibility for society.The thesis is divided into five parts:The first part elaborates the goal and the significance, the ideas and methods of the research at home and abroad, the status of research on this problem, and the core concepts involved in this study were defined.The second part traces the origin of general education first,and then to USA research universities’ general education development are summed up, and its development process is divided into the bud and the rise, establishment and prosperity and the deepening and Reform three stages.The third part describes the current situation of the curriculum from the two aspects of types and contents and teaching methods of the USA research universities’ general education.The fourth part is the case analysis. Select three research universities(Harvard University, University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) as cases, educational status of their general description and analysis respectively.The fifth part respectively from the essence of general education, faculty, curriculum system, course content, teaching method, to cope with globalization, through a dedicated, through deep mutual eight aspects should be predicted the developing trend of research university general education American.