General Education Task Force Final Report to the Academic Plan Steering Committee.

Overview & Synopsis

A General Education Task Force (GETF) was formally constituted at George Brown College (GBC) in June 1992 as one of four task forces created to develop an academic plan for the college. The charge of the GETF was to develop a philosophy statement on general education, a set of post-secondary general education curriculum guidelines, a general education course approval and review process, and an implementation plan regarding general education for the college. This report represents the deliberations and recommendations of the GETF. Part I provides an introduction to the charge and structure of the Task Force. Part II identifies issues which provide a context for the process of curriculum development, including the mandate of Ontario colleges, college accountability, the impact of the economic recession in Ontario, and equity in the curriculum. Part III presents final curriculum recommendations, including: (1) a general education philosophy statement; (2) curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment principles; (3) three broad content areas of the general education curriculum model (i.e., arts and humanities, social sciences, and science and technologies); (4) criteria for determining appropriate course content in the three content areas; (5) learning outcomes; (6) foundations courses; (7) breadth of content; and (8) inclusion of skills in general education courses. Part IV presents a plan for implementing the general education program, while part V summarizes the recommendations of the Generic Skills Subcommittee. Finally, part VI offers concluding comments on the process of developing a general education curriculum. (MAB)