大學通識教育興起於美國，20世紀獲得長足發展。在過去一百年間，美國大學的通識教育經歷了怎樣的發展歷程，主要有哪些理念流派，各主張在課程實踐中取得哪些成就以及遭遇到何種困難，這些經驗，對正在積極籌劃與發展大學通識教育的香港高校而言頗具參考意義。 本文首先分析通識教育的興起及其與自由教育的關係，然後將美國20世紀大學通識教育的發展分為三個階段：20世紀初至二三十年代、二戰後至七十年代末、20世紀八九十年代，分別敘述各個時期影響廣泛的通識教育理念與課程實踐，並討論其得失及對香港發展大學通識教育的可借鑒之處。

Although Hong Kong students perform quite well in international performance measurements such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), there are issues concerning the significant differences between the newly immigrated students and the local students, the gender differences and variation of performances among schools and within schools. Indeed, learning diversity has become an important issue as students come from many different families and with various backgrounds. In order to provide students with equal opportunities to learn, the new senior secondary school curriculum has set out a new direction for catering to students’ learning diversity. The major design of the new curriculum is to offer more electives and enhance student choices. It is also intended to be implemented with flexible teaching strategies and a school-based curriculum and assessment. How this can be done has posed a big challenge to schools and teachers. This paper aims to explore how the newly implemented curriculum can cater to learning diversity in greater depth.

在英式的學制傳統下，香港的大學以培養專才為重。在三年的大學生活中，大部分學習時間集中在主修的科目上。近年，受到美國大學的影響，大學的通識教育受到重視。334學制的推行，學生學業年期增加了，提供了空間讓大學發展通識教育。由於學制轉變，進入大學的新生所經歷的中學背景也有不同。在這情景下，大學的通識教育的目標應是甚麼呢？

Although they are not listed in the regular teaching material, the high value of anime and manga (Japanese cartoons and comics) in teaching and learning, and the enormous application of anime and manga in teaching, is clearly recognized in Japan, especially in liberal studies subjects. Education professionals in America are also paying positive roles in regard to this new teaching lately. While cartoons and comics are also one of the most popular entertainments of Hong Kong teenagers, and Japanese commodities occupy the largest share in the market, anime and manga are barely adopted by local schools in teaching and learning of liberal studies subjects. Through in-depth interviews with teachers and case studies of school practices, this paper explains the experience in Japan by the society’s tradition, culture and attitude in reading anime and manga. Demonization of some categories of this popular culture commodity in recent decades does not demolish the long-established positive regard towards anime and manga. With the effort of the government and parent organizations, adoption of anime and manga is well justified in schooling institutions, hence constructed effectively in teaching and learning of liberal studies subjects in Japan. The paper also applies the explanation of Japan’s experience to analyze the contrary situation in contemporary Hong Kong.

In 2009-11, the researchers were engaged in the Basic Law Education (BLE) Project financed by the Quality Education Fund of the HKSAR Government. The project aimed at providing Liberal Studies teachers curricular and pedagogical support in the teaching of the Hong Kong Basic Law, human rights and law-related concepts. As part of the project, the human rights friendly ethos of the participating schools was studied. The research methodology comprised both a questionnaire survey, using the Indicators and Evaluative Checklist for Human Rights Friendly Environment in Schools, and in-depth focus group interviews with groups of students and teachers who had participated in the survey. Human rights education is an important part of civic education in the 21st century and it can best be supported by a human rights friendly school ethos. This paper makes use of the research findings from the study and explores, with the help of a case study, why and how a school can promote a human right friendly school ethos and the complications that may arise. The paper can be of reference value to researchers and civic educators who are interested in human right education. It can also be of help to school leaders and teachers who are trying to develop a human right respecting school environment which is now universally required.
[Copyright © World Education, Science, Research and Counseling Center].

Liberal Studies will be a core subject in the new senior secondary curriculum to be implemented in 2009 in Hong Kong. The subject is very new to many pre-service and serving teachers who will be taking up teaching in this subject specialty. The present study is intended to be an exploratory one, with the aim of learning about how pre-service teachers majoring in Liberal Studies in a Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme offered by a local university make decisions when planning for lessons in the subject. The findings show that three factors played a key role in these teachers’ instructional decision making – disciplinary backgrounds, curriculum considerations, and considerations of how to represent knowledge for students. The findings will contribute to an understanding of the professional learning needs of Liberal Studies teachers.