| The purpose in this study was to develop a model to evaluate student choices to meet general education distributional requirements. Reform efforts focusing on program contents and philosophy will have little effect if students fail to understand the value of general education or relate its contents to their major fields of study. This researcher examined the selections students made to meet distributional requirements, factors that influenced those choices, credits earned in distributional areas, and students' perceptions of the benefit of general education to their general development and in understanding of their majors.; Data were collected through interviews and transcript audits of baccalaureate students from Lake Superior State University. Using analysis of variance, differences were analyzed based on disciplinary major, gender, transfer status, age, and nationality of students. The findings were as follows: (1) Departments, through degree requirements, determined, to a great extent, the general education experience of students by constraining their choices. (2) Students earned few credits in the distributional areas of general education. Mean total credits earned in the humanities were near the minimum requirements. Total credits earned in the social and natural sciences were greater for some disciplinary majors. Business and engineering technology students earned the least credit in the three distributional areas. (3) Students attached the least importance to faculty advice in making their course selections. Reputation of the instructor, followed by personal preferences of students with respect to scheduled times or days, were most important. Differences among students based on disciplinary major were found. (4) Students attached low value to general education courses outside the distributional area of their majors. Students in business and engineering technology programs perceived the least benefit from general education. Students rated humanities courses as least beneficial. Older students who completed requirements as juniors or seniors rated humanities courses as more beneficial to their general development than did younger students or those who completed requirements as freshmen or sophomores. |
