A Comparison of Education and Non-Education Majors in General College Courses.

Overview & Synopsis

This study examined the perception that individuals who enter the teaching profession are less academically competent than are those who enter other fields of study. The study investigated differences in students' grade point averages (GPAs) and differences between GPAs earned in English, mathematics, social studies, and science by teacher education students and non-teacher education students. Data for the study came from 1,071 undergraduate teacher education students and 7,176 non-teacher education students enrolled at East Carolina University, North Carolina, in the Fall of 1991. The researcher grouped students by Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores using 50-point intervals and computed GPAs for each group by SAT interval. Analysis of the data indicated that students who chose teacher education as their major earned a significantly higher overall GPA in general college courses than did non-teacher education majors. Teacher education majors' GPAs were significantly higher in English, science, and mathematics, and there were no significant differences in GPAs in social studies. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.) (SM)