香港教育改革在「三三四」改制的建議下，首輪的課程改革將會同步實施，「新高中通識教育」將成為必修科目。隨著課程的轉型，教統局預測，「新高中通識教育」將來在全港推行後，任教該科目的教師將增至三千二百人。全港現時約有三百名教師任教高補程度通識教育。因此，很多現時任教「個人、社會、人文科」範疇內的教師及任教經濟科、經濟及公共事務科、歷史科（中國歷史及世界歷史）、地理科各學科的教師都或需要轉型任教「新高中通識教育」。這批教師需重新接受「新高中通識教育」的再培訓。在三三四制首輪諮詢期當中，教師及辦學團體紛紛提出不同意見，主要針對下列七方面：（1）新高中通識教育的課程內容；（2）任教新高中通教育的教師再培訓的要求；（3）新高中通識教育的教學法；（4）新高中通識教育的評估方法與分級；（5）學校行政與新高中通識教育科推行的配合；（6）新高中通識教育學生人數與教學效能的關係；（7）新高中通識教育的教學語言與學習成效。有見及此，本文將會從以上七方面進行初步探討。
In the recent round of education reform in Hong Kong, the 3+3+4 proposal was introduced. However, the introduction of Liberal Studies as a compulsory core subject has become quite a hot topic of debate. The Education and Manpower Bureau predicted that the change will affect more than 3,200 teachers who will be teaching the new subject. This paper aims to review the development of the subject over the past years and explore the possible challenges that teachers might face during the implementation process. These included (1) the content and structure of the curriculum; (2) the demand for re-training teachers; (3) the pedagogy of Liberal Studies;(4) the assessment and grading of project learning work of Liberal Studies; (5) corresponding changes in schools' administrative procedures to support the implementation of Liberal Studies; (6) the relationship of class size and teaching of Liberal Studies; (7) the relationship of medium of instruction and the teaching of Liberal Studies. Finally, recommendations are suggested.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

在新高中學制改革中，最引起公眾討論的是新設立的通識教育科。它成為了四個必修科之一。從表面來看，這個學科的目標是與整個教育改革的理念很配合，但是如果我們仔細地分辨，不難看到設立這個必修學科的理據，以及內容選取上，都有不足的地方。而更令人關注的是不少中學在政府的宣傳攻勢下，紛紛地在初中階段，設立通識教育科。這種一窩蜂的舉措如果是未經深思熟慮的話，可能會帶來很多負面的影響。
Liberal Studies has been designed as one of the four compulsory subjects of the new senior secondary curriculum. The aims and objectives of this "new" senior secondary school subject are, on paper, in line with the essence of the current educational reform in Hong Kong. However, a close review of its development and proposed contents reveals that the rationale for establishing this integrated subject and the content coverage are far from convincing. What makes the situation even more worrying is that the promotional strategy of the Government for establishing this subject has been so powerful and successful at some schools are creating a "liberal studies" subject in their junior secondary curriculum without careful consideration of the potential adverse effect of such a move.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

本文從通識教育理念、通識課程目標與設置、課程教學與管理等方面，對中國大陸和香港、臺灣地區高等學校的通識課程進行了比較分析，探討了中國大陸高校通識課程存在的問題與不足。作者認為，中國大陸高等教育對通識教育的理解尚停留於表面，只是注重文理交叉等學科知識層面，沒有深入到人格養成、情感陶冶等層面；通識課程的設置也隨意性較大，缺乏統一課程理念的指導；通識課程的教學有待於提高品質，管理也需要進一步加以改進。

按香港教統局的建議，二零零九年開始實行的新高中學制，將包括通識教育（通識科）為一個學生必須修讀的科目。本文將以「可持續發展」概念（「可持續」）為例子，指出作為必修的核心科目，通識科可以與其他選修的專科相輔相成，協助學生理解一些重要的現世議題。文章首先會檢視新高中通識科的課程宗旨和目標，與及有關「可持續」的單元內容。接著會探索一些選修專科課程怎樣處理「可持續」的教學，並和通識科作出比較。地理、生物和經濟是三個最為相關的科目，亦是此部份的焦點。最後，建基於上面的探討，文章會指出課程規劃當局應小心選取新高中通識科課程內容，以便能以最有效率的方法，向學生傳授最有價值的知識、技能和價值觀。
In Hong Kong, the EMB has suggested adding Liberal Studies (LS) as a core subject for the new senior secondary (NSS) curriculum which will begin in 2009. This paper uses the concept of sustainable development (SD) as an example to illustrate how LS can complement other elective subjects in the teaching of important contemporary issues. The focus will be on how the NSS-LS and others (in particular Geography, Biology and Economics) treat the concept of SD in their curricula. Based on the discussion, this paper will highlight the importance of selecting appropriate content for the LS curriculum.