ERIC Number: ED328116
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1990
Pages: 44
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
General Learning at a Women's College.
Ratcliff, James L.; Jones, Elizabeth A.
A study was conducted at a women's college to compare contrasting ideas of general education curriculum requirements: the prescribed core curriculum in which all students take the same courses versus the distributive model in which students are required to choose a minimum number of courses within specified academic areas. Graduating seniors were classified on the basis of Scholastic Aptitude Test scores for both Math and Verbal sections as either High/High (N=73) or Low/Low (N=29). College courses students had taken were grouped according to the gains reflected as graduating seniors on nine Graduate Record Examination (GRE) item types to determine which of the competing hypotheses explain student course taking behavior. Findings supported the distributive model. However, they did not support the current use of a wide range of options in distributional general education requirement. Instead findings suggested that discrete arrays of coursework be identified which are more appropriate and productive for different ability levels of students. Includes 21 references. (LPT)
Descriptors: Academic Ability, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests, Cluster Analysis, College Curriculum, College Seniors, College Students, Core Curriculum, Course Selection (Students), Courses, Educational Philosophy, General Education, Higher Education, Interdisciplinary Approach, Learning, Required Courses, Single Sex Colleges, Student Characteristics, Student Interests, Trend Analysis, Womens Education
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: EXXON Education Foundation, New York, NY.; Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park. Center for the Study of Higher Education.
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Graduate Record Examinations; SAT (College Admission Test)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A