A Study On The Research Universities’ General Education Curriculum System In Chinese Taiwan Region

For a long time,the general education curriculum system of research-based universities in China has mainly learned from developed countries in Europe and America but paid little attention on surrounding areas.As the practice of general education in Chinese Taiwan Region is relatively early and has made certain influence,it can be significant to study it for the GE curriculum construction of research-based universities.In this study,the author mainly adopted the methods of literature analysis,interview,case study to construct the analytical framework of general education curriculum system of research-based universities based on the clarification and guidance of the theory of “Humanism” and “Taylor’s Principle”.The work carried out in this research can be listed as follows:Firstly,this thesis took seven research-based universities of Chinese Taiwan Region as the research subjects,investigating the general situation and features of general education curriculum system in those seven universities from four perspectives including the purpose,setting,implementation and assessment.It is found that the purposes of GE curriculum in those seven universities are both explicit,fitting their characteristic of research-based universities.Besides,the results showed that not only their teaching styles and curriculum implementation are abundant and various,but also their bi-directional assessment ways can contribute to the development of general education.Secondly,the author chose C University,one of the seven research-based universities in Chinese Taiwan Region,as a case,summarizing the experience,characteristics and existed problems of its general education curriculum system from four perspectives including the purpose,setting,implementation,management and assessment.Through interviewing teachers and undergraduates in C University who experienced general education courses,the advantages and disadvantages of general education curriculum system of research universities in Chinese Taiwan region can be concluded as follows : the explicit purpose is beneficial to cultivate while the various curriculum setting can contribute to students’ balanced choice.The systematic curriculum implementation is helpful to its further promotion and the scientific curriculum management can contribute to its beneficial development.However,there are still some existed problems such as the "depth" and "breadth" of general education courses are difficult to figure out;related teachers are under much scientific research pressure.Therefore,the evaluation of general education courses needs to be more scientific.In conclusion,this research aims to put forward some suggestions for the construction of general education courses and explore a way which is beneficial to its healthy development in research-based universities.At the same time,through this study,the talent cultivation mechanism of research universities can be updated,which can make the education functions develop better in research universities.