Perceptions of California Junior College, Four-year Colelge and University Personnel Concerning General Education PDF Download

Author: Thomas J. O'Connor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : College administrators
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
At the present time, the expansion of higher educational facilities in California has reached tremendous proportions. The University of California has eight campuses, excluding the San Francisco Medical School. The state college system has 19 campuses, and there are 92 junior colleges in the State of California. Growth of public higher educational facilities has not been accomplished without difficulties arising among the three segments of higher education. One of the continuing problems facing higher education in California is the difference of opinion among the junior colleges, the state colleges and the university campuses as to what should comprise the lower division breadth requirements or general education preparation of college students. Each campus of the university has distinct patterns of college breadth requirements. Each state college interprets Title V of the Education Code with regard to general education according to its individual philosophy; and the junior college, which serves both segments, is confused and frustrated by the differences in patterns of general education. This study attempts to examine the expectations of each of the segments of higher education with regard to its perceptions of the ends and means of general education subject matter. Accordingly, role theory was selected as a concept to be employed in determining the expectations of each of the segments as reflected in the perceptions of faculty members, student personnel workers and administrators. The underlying hypothesis predicted on the role theory assumes that if individuals perceive roles similarly and have similar expectations of the obligations and responsibilities inherent in those roles, less interpersonal conflict will exist than if such expectations are divergent. The hypothesis is also concerned with demonstrating that faculty, student personnel workers, and administrators of each of the segments of higher education have congruent expectations of each other in the same respect. For the purpose of the study a series of hypotheses was evolved which postulated that, in general, faculty members would be concerned primarily with subject matter, that student personnel people would regard the development of the student as their primary concern, and that administrators would be involved in the educative process to the extent of developing social norms in students. Further, it was stipulated that the methods used by all these representatives of higher education could be classified as didactic or empirical, formal and informal. Questionnaires were sent to eight campuses of each type of California higher educational institution originally. Three administrators, three student personnel workers, and faculty members, one each from humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences were contacted. A total of 275 questionnaires were sent out and 213 returned. The results of the study indicate a distinctive similarity of expressed attitude regarding the ends and means of general education within, not between, each classification of college personnel; that is, faculty members, student personnel workers, and administrators. In the comparison of the classifications of college personnel with each other, in the same type of institution, variations of expressed perceptions of the ends and means of general education were found. Finally, this study has demonstrated that irrespective of type of institution, there are congruent expectations of faculty members, student personnel workers, and administrators respectively regarding the ends of general education.