what is the historical context of general education in higher education is my ma
ID: 361768 • Letter: W
Question
what is the historical context of general education in higher education is my main point. These are review of the research questions I want addressed: Why are General education courses required? What are the values of General education courses? What is general education? What is the general education curriculum? Should colleges lessen general education and focus on major courses? please make main points clear about the historical context of genral education in higher education. Please provide a list of sources with written summary of key take-aways (important ideas, opinions, claims, or evidence) that mention about the history of general education in higher education. please have an intro, body, & conclusion. THANK YOU VERY MUCH please answer quick
Explanation / Answer
General Education:
The phrase “General Education” refers to the educational foundation of skills, knowledge, habits of mind, and values that prepares students for success in their majors and in their personal and professional lives.
General Education courses prepare students to meet the personal, academic, and career challenges of today and tomorrow as empowered citizens of a global society.
General Education is a education for the sake of education. General Education enables students to gain:
1. Written and Oral Communication Skill
2. Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skill
3. Technological Competence Skill
4. Information Literacy Skill
5. Scientific and Logical Reasoning Skill
6. Local and Global Diversity Skill
7. Personal and Professional Ethical Skill
Historical Context of General Education in Higher Education:
General Education plays an interesting role in Higher Education Studies. A typical undergraduate at college or university is expected to satisfy a range of requirements in his or her major area of study (mathematics, economics, philosophy, Social Sciences, Medicine etc.); and they will also take a range of electives – courses that are not required for graduation but in which the student might want to explore a developing interest.
In addition to both of these, however, most undergraduate institutions (though not all) require that students satisfy a range of general education requirements as well. General Education Requirements are those that every student must fulfill regardless of their areas of interest or specialty in order to be prepared to enter the broader world and to aspire to live a good and prosporous life in it.
[1] Why are General education courses required ?
Ans: The major role of General Education Courses is actually to teach us how to learn. This can be broken into several parts, including
First, at the university we refine the skills of oral and written communication, of qualitative and quantitative description, of reasoning, and of making understanding achievable. Second, we gain practical skills in discovering worthwhile sources of information, gathering information, organizing knowledge into manageable structures, and preparing to use the knowledge we gain. [1]
We strengthen our resolve, our diligence, and our obedience by going through what must be done to gain knowledge. We learn self-discipline, which enables us to do whatever life asks of us.
Third, the university effectively teaches us how much there is to know by requiring us to sample widely in a general education program. Will Durant said, "Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance" ("Teachers: The Essence of the Centuries," Education, Time, 13 August 1965, 48). We don't know how much we don't know until we know something.
[2] What are the values of General education courses?
Ans: General Education courses is valued that provides following skill sets in students: [3]
1. Acquire and Practice Foundational Skills: Human experience is as varied as our fingerprints, but certain skills provide the foundation upon which higher education is built. The goal of Acquire and Practice Foundational skills is to develop proficiency in written, oral, and visual communication; inquiry techniques; creative and logical analysis; information management and assessment; teamwork; and problem-solving skill.
2. Synthesize Knowledge into Understanding: In today's era, each one of us have information access and thus has an ability to retrieve an array of informations with facts and figures.
3. Develop and Foster Civic Responsibility: Learning enables students to acquire a unique set of learning outcomes, but a common element of learning is that students apply in-class learning to real-world settings. By applying class-room study into real world settings, students became responsible and develops Civic/Societal skills.
4. Apply Skills beyond the Classroom: Students often expands their knowledge base via trainings and learnings during their interships or jobs. By applying their college or university study, they becomes skilled and thus sharpen their mindset to become compatible to current needs of the employer. Under the continuous evluation and mentorship of superiors or peers students in their internships/jobs acquire industry specific knowledge that matches the expactation of their jobs.
[3] What is general education?
Ans: General Education can be defined as the educational foundation of skills, knowledge, habits of mind, and values that prepares students for success in their majors and in their personal and professional lives.
In broad perspective, General Education courses prepare students to meet the personal, academic, and career challenges of today and tomorrow as empowered citizens of a global society.
[4] What is the General Education Curriculum?
Ans: The aim of General Education is to develop people capable of making thoughtful choices that lead to creative and productive lives and to responsible participation in society. The Goals for Learning in General Education General Education is that portion of the curriculum in which the University directly addresses the knowledge, skills, habits, and dispositions of educated persons.
An ideal Curriculum for general education could be:
1. English: It will teach you the essential communications skills for organizing and communicating information in the proper forms of written communication.
2. Communications: In these courses you learn about the processes and strategies within communications to further develop your written and oral communications skills in order to use language effectively.
3. Social Science: In this area of course work you’ll typically learn the disciplines within society and human behaviors while developing your problem solving skills, in addition to becoming more globally aware of how the population as a whole may be impacted.
4. Math: These courses help students to develop a necessary comprehension level of arithmetic, while also expanding of your key critical thinking and problem solving skills.
5. Humanities: This will expand Students' understanding of the creative side of humanity in order to build up their critical thinking and global awareness skills.
While general education requirements may not be why you decided to go back to school and earn your degree, they certainly are a major part of your degree that can directly impact your ability to succeed in your new career. Understanding these courses are critical and not just general is your first step in getting yourself prepared for a bright future.
[5] Should colleges lessen general education and focus on major courses?
Ans: Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini (1991) affirmed this notion when they discovered that the greatest gains in students' ability to think critically were found at institutions with courses specifically designed to meet general education requirements.
In my opinion, Colleges should keep balance between the general education and major courses. The reason behind this is that general education have more significance in overall development of students rather than that of major courses. Major courses provides indepth and specific knowledge and enables students to become expert in their area of interests. So, General education and major couses go hand in hand and both required in same extent for the overall growth and development of students.
Summary: General Education & Importance of General Education in Higher Education
In the 1960s, general education was at the forefront of innovative programs in American community colleges. Every community college designed a program of a common core of courses for the common person. General education was so popular it was included as one of the required components of a comprehensive community college along with university transfer, vocational and occupational programs, remedial education, and community service programs.[4]
The general higher education and training that takes place in a university, college, or Institute of technology usually includes significant theoretical and abstract elements, as well as applied aspects. In contrast, the vocational higher education and training that takes place at vocational universities and schools usually concentrates on practical applications, with very little theory.
General Education Outcomes are the goals for learning and development upon which higher education general education programs are based. [2]They can be defined as the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that college students will need to be successful in work, family, and community. They are what students should know, understand, and be able to do in order to be an educated person and to meet the demands that the future will place on them, the demands of the complex, diverse, and globally interdependent world of the 21st century.
In current student success reform efforts to increase retention and completion rates, the curriculum has pretty much been ignored. But leaders in a handful of community colleges are beginning to realize the unintended consequences of too many courses and too many choices, and they are beginning to appoint faculty committees to explore and redesign general education programs to better serve the needs of today’s students.
References:
[1]. From "Learning in an Eternal Context," Lynne E. Garner, Devotional Address Jun. 5, 2001:
[2]. Palomba, C. A., & Banta, T. W. (1999). Assessment essentials: Planning, implementing, and improving assessment in higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[3]. Stony Brook’s new General Education
[4]. A brief history of general education by Terry O’Banion Community College Journal of Research and Practice Vol. 40, Iss. 4,2016
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