An Evaluation of General Education in Elementary Teacher Preparation

Abstract

ONE OF THE persistent problems in teacher education is that of evaluating the contribution of general education to the teacher preparatory pro gram. A program of liberal studies, especially in the first two years, has been accepted as essential, but controversy over aims, content and method con tinues. If the general education sequence is to be based on something more than sentiment, research must tell us what students have achieved in the ir general education experiences and further, what relationship exists between this achievement and successful teaching. The study reported in this article is concerned with the general education growth in social studies, science and mathematics of a group of 64 students in the elementary curriculum during their first two years at Jersey City State College. Standard test scores were used to measure student achievement at the beginning of their freshman year and at the close of their sophomore year. Achievement test scores were compared to grade point averages and to a measure of general capacity to achieve in col lege. In recognition of the difficulty of agreement in general education, the basic assumption was made that the standard tests used in the study were valid and reliable instruments for measuring the general education outcomes in the social studies, science and mathematics courses offered in the first two years at Jersey City State College. The study is useful in that the process of com bining several measures of outcomes may lead to a more objective analysis of aims, content and grad ing practices in general education. It provides da ta on general education achievement that may be com pared to data on success in first-year teaching. Al though the recommendations may have useful impli cations for other institutions, they apply chiefly to the general education curriculum at Jersey City State College.