Susan Gano-Phillips and Xiaoyan Wang AAC&U General Education and Assessment Conference

1. A Cross Cultural Investigation of Student and FaCULTY Perceptions of General Education: Why perception matters Susan Gano-Phillips and Xiaoyan Wang AAC&U General Education and Assessment Conference February 28-March 2, 2013 Boston, MA

2. Objectives of the Project • To examine student and faculty perceptions of General Education using quantitative and qualitative methods • To compare perceptions in a University in Hong Kong that was piloting GE for the first time, to a US University with a long tradition of GE

3. Outline • Why perceptions matter? • Scale Development and Reliability • Quantitative Analyses: • Compare Student and Faculty perceptions within each institution • Conduct cross institutional (cultural) comparisons • Qualitative Analyses: • Conduct cross institutional (cultural) comparison of student and faculty perceptions of the goals of GE

4. Why Perceptions of GE matter? • Since Dressel & Mayhew’s 1954 ACE publication, Johnston et al. (1991) note, “Little has been done to identify and understand student perceptions regarding general education, much less reshape and harness them on its behalf.” (p. 182) • Despite concerns with career preparation, many studies show that undergraduates do value general education • What students mean by “general education” is unclear

5. Why Perceptions of GE matter? • When developing new programs or significantly revising existing ones, perceptions are a useful first-step in examining how well institutional values (goals/outcomes) are penetrating the institution’s culture • Student and faculty views of GE are often discordant • Identifying and understanding student perceptions may allow us to reshape and harness those perceptions in service of greater learning

6. Survey Design • Invite students enrolled in initial GE courses at their respective universities to complete a GE survey • Invite faculty teaching in GE courses to respond to a parallel survey • Survey collected demographic data, responses to a 27 item scale related intended learning outcomes and pedagogies related to GE, and open-ended responses regarding the learning that occurs in GE courses/programs

7. Scale Development • A 20 item 5-point Likert scale was developed using a sample of more than 1200 respondents 1 3 5 Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree Sample items administered: This course developed my ethical decision making skills. This course emphasized applying theories or concepts.

8. Scale Development – 20 items, 4 subscales • Learning Skills: 6 items: alpha = 0.81 • GE develops my oral communication skills • GE develops my numeric and information literacy skills. • Teamwork: 3 items: alpha = 0.81 • GE requires students to work together on projects outside of class • GE develops my teamwork skills • Higher order thinking: 4 items: alpha = 0.82 • GE emphasized making judments about the value of information • GE emphasized synthesizing information and organizing ideas • Personal development: 7 items: alpha = 0.81 • GE helped me to understand my social responsibilities • GE encouraged me to learn something about myself

9. Research Questions Data Analysis

10. Student and Faculty Perceptions of GE at a University in Hong Kong

11. Student and Faculty Perceptions of GEat a University in the US

12. US vs. HK Faculty Perceptions of GE

13. US vs. HK Student Perceptions of GE

14. Summary of Quantitative Findings • In general, faculty in both the US and HK universities perceive GE courses as achieving greater outcomes than students do. • Across institutions, HK faculty perceive a significantly greater achievement of SKILL DEVELOPMENT than do US faculty. • Across institutions, HK students perceive greater achievement in 3 of the 4 major GE outcomes: PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, HIGHER ORDER THINKING and SKILL DEVELOPMENT than do their US counterparts. There was no significant difference across universities in perceptions of TEAMWORK.

15. Qualitative Responses Faculty and students responded to the open ended question: • List a maximum of 5 things you believe every student should learn at college/university as a result of their general education program. • Responses were coded as • Knowledge • Skills • Values • Interrater reliability was established at kappa = 0.90

16. Knowledge Definition: generalized knowledge unrelated to a practical skill or task (uses verbs like “understanding” or “knowing”) • To know more about HK and China development • Introduction to Philosophy • Political awareness • To know psychology • Acquire updated information about the world economy • General concepts of the subject taken • Science development • Basic law or policy knowledge

17. Skills Definition: a specific tool used in a practical manner to accomplish a task (includes critical thinking, integrating and applying knowledge into everyday life, reflection) • Communication skills • Leadership skills • How to maintain good relationships with co-workers in the future • Improved writing skills • How to manage one’s money • Transferable skills learning • Study habits or skills

18. Values Definition: efforts to imbue or develop certain ways of thinking (includes “looking differently at a situation,” taking a new perspective, valuing independence, and is related to ethics) • What it means to be a good citizen • Be hardworking • Respect diverse people in society • The concept of value in life • The way to think and act positively in life • To be open-minded in accepting different opinions • Understanding myself and develop my own principles or values • Eagerness to learn • Broaden horizons • Have a good learning attitude

19. Students’ Beliefs about GE Outcomes Proportion of Total Responses * X2 = 7.69, p = .021

20. Faculty’s Beliefs about GE outcomes Proportion of Total Responses * X2 = 8.67, p = .013

21. Summary of Qualitative Responses • HK students report significantly greater emphasis on VALUES DEVELOPMENT as a result of GE than do US students • HK faculty report significantly greater emphasis of KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT than US faculty, while US faculty report significantly greater emphasis on SKILL DEVELOPMENT than do HK faculty

22. Implications for Future Research • Do attitudes about GE change over students’ course of study? How might we positively impact early attitudes regarding GE? • Why might a gap between faculty and student perceptions exist? Can or should it be reduced? • Are students’ perceptions related to authentic assessments of students’ learning (e.g., CLA, CAAP)?

23. Questions and Discussion Please feel free to contact either author with additional questions: Susan Gano-Phillips (sganop@umflint.edu) Xiaoyan Wang (xiao6yan8@yahoo.com)