The Development of General Education Policies and the General Education Curricula in China

—A Comparative Case Study of Three Universities—

Abstract

In China, before 1990, due to an emergent demand for manpower in science and engineering fields, higher education policy was introduced to cultivate specialists rather than generalists. However, China was transformed from a planned economy to a market economy in the early 90s instead. Due to this, it is imperative for Chinese higher education to improve overly specialized education. Additionally, China realized the importance of teaching humanities and social science to cultivate strong qualities. Therefore in the late 90s, the policy on the curriculum reform in general education was implemented.

This article is a comparative case study of the general education curricula of a college and two universities. It will illustrate the context in which the general education policies were put forward. It will also explain how the policies and different characteristics of individual universities have an impact on the subject contents of the curricula in institutions.