With a generous donation from the Edwin S. L. Cheng Research Fund for General Education and Philosophy, the Office of University General Education of The Chinese University of Hong Kong established the Research Centre for General Education in 2005, renamed as the Baldwin Cheng Research Centre for General Education in 2011. The BCRCGE’s brief is to research important topics relating to general education and organize related academic activities so as to promote exchanges amongst tertiary institutions everywhere concerning their practical experiences.
Since its foundation, The Chinese University of Hong Kong has taken on the melding of China’s “humanism” with the West’s “liberal education” as its mission, striving to find the right balance between a liberal education and a professional education. General education has always been compulsory for all undergraduates, its aim being to nurture knowledgeable intellectuals with broad horizons.
During the 21st Century, an era characterized by the globalized knowledge economy, tertiary education that consists solely of specialized training in individual disciplines is unable to meet the demands for the talent required in the new millennium. Accordingly, general education is being looked upon with increasingly greater importance in the academic world, both domestically and abroad. The establishment of the Baldwin Cheng Research Centre for General Education is tailored purposely to assist in promoting the development of general education in Chinese speaking areas and meeting the challenges of the new millennium.
Mission
Since its establishment, the focus of the BCRCGE’s work has mainly been on “research” and “academic exchange and visit”.
Research
- Collection and collation of information on the development of general education in universities in the United States, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, establishment of relevant databases and studying on a comparative basis the general education philosophies, curricula, etc. in those regions.
- Gaining, through various types of studies, an understanding of the effectiveness of universities in implementing general education, the attitudes of professors and students toward general education, the status of teaching and learning, the degree of satisfaction with general education programs, etc.
- Doing research on liberal studies courses in high schools in keeping with the development of the general education program in the 3 + 3 + 4 curriculum implemented in Hong Kong since 2009.
Academic Exchanges and Visits
Publication
- Publication of academic journals to share information on general education and academic resources with educational workers in Hong Kong and other Chinese-speaking areas.
- Publishing works on general education, encouraging scholars and teachers of general education courses to write on general education and increasing the intellectual community’s and the public’s awareness of general education.
Academic Exchanges and Visits
- Carrying on exchanges on the philosophy and practice of general education with institutions of higher learning here in Hong Kong and in China, Taiwan and other Chinese-speaking areas, as well as the US and Europe.
- Attending relevant academic conferences to understand the most recent trends in the research on and the development of general education in those regions.
- Collaborating with the Office of University General Education in organizing academic exchange activities in order to promote exchanges on general education research and teachers’ teaching experiences, and expand general education culture outside the classroom.
