「通識教育」是一個通用且熟悉的名稱，但其定義究竟為何，似難有定論。本文首先分辨幾個與「通識教育」相關或相近之名稱，接著試圖應用美國伊士列爾、謝富勒（Israel Scheffler）的三種定義法，即「約定型」、「敘述型」與「計畫型」，探討「通識教育」之定義。本文以謝氏三種定義法作為分析的主軸，針對所搜集到數種中英文文獻，對「通識教育」所做之定義，進行分析與討論。本文發現謝氏三種定義法，有助於分析與認識「通識教育」一詞之定義。就「約定型」定義看，文獻中發現創制型與非創制型之定義法；就「敘述型」定義看，對「通識教育」呈現多元化的解說，包括語言、歷史、知識、哲學、民主社會、教育等方面；就「計畫型」定義看，歸納了「通識教育」幾項實行方法。本文建議未來也可將謝氏的三種定義法，應用到分析與解釋其他教育名稱的定義上。
This paper examines the definition of the familiar and commonly-used term “General Education.” After discussing some of the related and similar terms, this paper goes on to apply Israel Scheffler’s three types of definition, i.e., the stipulative, the descriptive and the programmatic, to analyze and re-examine the term “General Education” as it is defined by some of the existing literature collected. It is found that these three types of definition contribute to better understanding of “General Education.” Of the three types, the descriptive type is the most frequently and widely used and most variously defined, e.g., from the perspectives of linguistics, history, knowledge, philosophy, democratic society, and education. It is highly recommended that with the successful application in this paper, Schefler’s three types of definition can well and broadly be applied to analyzing and interpreting the definition of other educational terms.
