From the 2012/13 academic year, the undergraduate degree programme in Hong Kong higher education has been transferred from a three-year to a four-year structure, with introduction of a rigorous component of general education in the new four-year curriculum. The present study aims to evaluate the implementation and impact of a new general education program, the "General University Requirements" (GUR), in the new four-year undergraduate curriculum of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) based on the views of teachers. A total of 68 teachers who had taught different GUR subjects in 2013/14 academic year were recruited to fill in an evaluation sheet designed to understand their views towards the GUR subjects. A total of 75 qualitative evaluation sheets were collected. Both close-ended and open-ended questions were used to assess teachers' perceptions. Data analyses indicated that teachers generally had positive evaluation about the GUR. They perceived that the content, teaching methods, and assessment components of GUR subjects successfully engaged students in the learning process and helped students achieve the intended learning outcomes. Teachers also had positive impression and feelings towards the GUR subjects they taught, and perceived the GUR subjects as helpful in broadening students' knowledge, cultivating their characters and important generic competences. Meanwhile, challenges in the implementation process were also noted. Findings from this study indicated the basic effectiveness of the GUR at PolyU based on teachers' views. It also provided indications for further improvements of the GUR and general education programs in Hong Kong higher education.
[Copyright Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 2017]

Hong Kong's universities have been attracting non-local students to diversify the overall student mix and enhance internationalism in higher education. Mainland Chinese students have become the largest non-local student source in this Western-style higher education sector. The diversity of student body together with the promotion of multicultural experience has created major concerns about provision of high quality learning and teaching. Studies show there have been potential peer interaction obstacles between local and mainland students due to different social, cultural and educational backgrounds. However, research on the role of teachers in facilitating peer interaction is limited. This paper reports an investigation on how teaching strategies used in the English Department had an impact on enhancing peer interactions in the university classroom context. Classroom observation containing textual descriptions and numeric interpretations was used. Solutions were recommended to improve the multicultural learning environment in Hong Kong and other universities with diverse student cohorts.
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