General Education in Community Colleges. ERIC Digest.

Overview & Synopsis

The term general education has been employed to characterize an array of community college non-vocational programs, from Great Books courses to guidance services. General education at present differs from previous decades in terms of its emphasis on tighter curricular structure, global, gender, and ethnic studies, and the integration of knowledge. Coherence in the general education curriculum is threatened, however, when curricular decisions are made by disparate units. Though chief academic officers claim that their colleges are emphasizing general education, a statewide study conducted in Michigan showed that general education accounted for only 3 of every 10 courses offered. General Education can be envisioned in terms of "habits of thought" which cut across curricular disciplines and which prepare students for the future. To meet learners' future needs, general education should include courses which promote an understanding of the cultural and geographic relationships among people. General education should also help students to become "expert learners" who monitor and manage their own learning. General education should teach students to be expert learners. General education should be appropriate for developmental and occupational students, as well as transfer students, as business needs and technological change are dictating that the skills deficits in the U.S. workforce be remedied. Includes 11 references. (ECC)