Education of undergraduate students is the most important goal of the post-secondary education system. While undergraduate education needs to provide discipline-specific knowledge and skills, it is imperative that it help students develop into mature, productive citizens of a global community. To this end, it is important that students develop the following:
· Capacity for critical thinking and problem solving
· Ability to communicate effectively, including listening, observing, speaking, and writing
· Understanding of the natural world and the role of humans in it
· Appreciation of the arts and humanities and the richness of human experience and expression
· Awareness of multiple perspectives and the importance of diversity
· Sense of societal responsibility, community service and global citizenship
· Ability to develop a sense of direction, with the self-discipline needed to ethically pursue a purposeful life
The value and contribution of General Education is in promoting the outcomes outlined above. The conversation regarding transferable General Education needs to shift from “credit hours (inputs)” to “outcomes (fundamental and essential preparation for advancement into discipline-based major).” Only then will we be able to create a truly seamless system that spans K-16.
Defining the learning experiences and processes that can achieve the desired outcomes in Oregon will require dialogue -- within and between educational institutions and with the larger community. At this early stage, however, a summary indicating the nature of those outcomes is useful.
There has been much work done in higher education to define the desired outcomes of General Education. The results of this work differ somewhat depending on whether models are developed by public, private, or for that matter, religiously affiliated universities. Among public universities the list of desired outcomes has changed over recent times -- first, with the inclusion of a sensitivity for different cultures, and more recently, with the inclusion of social responsibility and civic engagement. At a high level, most public institutions now agree that the following set of outcomes is desired:
Through meeting general education requirements:
(1) Students should develop more refined analytical or reasoning skills, including critical, logical and quantitative reasoning abilities. (Analytical Skills).
(2) Students should develop more effective communicative abilities. (Communicative Skills).
(3) Students should have more developed research and technological skills. (Research and Technological Skills)
(4) Students should acquire a basic, as well as a broad, introduction and exposure to the principal disciplinary modes of intellectual inquiry. (Field or Discipline Specific Knowledge).
(5) Students should be more able to recognize, explore, appreciate and exploit the interconnections between disciplines. (Interdisciplinary or Integrative Skills).
(6) Students should increasingly demonstrate the competencies necessary for successful participation in a diverse, pluralistic and increasingly interdependent world. (Civic, Social, Intercultural and Global Competence).
(7) Students should be able to work effectively as individuals as well as in teams. (Collaborative Skills and Team-Spiritedness).
(8) Students should demonstrate attributes of well-balanced persons capable of making thoughtful and positive choices. (Balanced Personal Growth and Development).
(9) Students should be able to link theory to praxis and should demonstrate the relevant and appropriate practical skills. (Practical and Real-World Relevant Skills).