General Education for the Individual: Healthy Lifestyle (Abstract)

General Education has become an important component of Hong Kong’s university education since the change to a 4-year curriculum. While many believe that the general education programme represents a common ground of learning for students of all disciplines, some argue that the generality of this educational programme takes away time and other resources from the major discipline which is more valuable in terms of a professional, discipline-focused training for university students. This presentation, however, aims to understand general education from a different perspective, in terms of its relevance to the students’ personal development at this specific time of their life, and also the many challenges existing in the larger environment. The presentation will be a sharing of a teaching and learning experience on Healthy Lifestyle, a required component in the General Education programme. Through reviewing the course assignments, students’ weekly journal inputs, and final personal resolution projects, we can have a glimpse of the effects of such a course on some students’ actual daily practices, and even their thoughts on the learning experience. This is good material for us to reflect on the educational value of such a course, and help us explore further the role of General Education in higher education. It is hoped that this will raise our awareness to the need to individualise the teaching and learning experience.