Am I Communicating? An Examination of the Rise of Communication Skills’ in Further Education

Carroll, Don

doi:10.1080/0309877800040104

Cited by 8 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…The evolution of communication skills course can be traced back to the mid-1970s in England (Carroll, 1980). It was during then when it was found that students from Africa, Arabia, Asia and other non-English speaking countries had poor academic performance in the vocational training centres.…”

Section: Theoretical Reviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Perceived Importance of Communication Skills Course among University Students: The Case of Two Universities in Tanzania

Komba

2016

AJOTE

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This article is based on a study which was conducted to examine the perceived importance of communication skills course among Tanzanian university students. A total of 134 undergraduate students, randomly selected from two Tanzanian universities, were involved in this study. The study adopted a case study design in order have an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. Both a questionnaire and interview schedule were used to collect data from the respondents. The collected data were analysed using thematic content analysis. It was revealed that the communication skills course was perceived by the majority of the respondents as an important course for the acquisition of communication skills needed in academic settings. It is recommended that universities should improve the delivery of the course by ensuring that both human and material resources are adequately available for the realization of the anticipated course outcomes. Keywords: Tanzania Tertiary Education, Communications, Communications Higher Education IntroductionThe development of any country depends on how efforts are made to invest more and wisely in education. Education serves as a means by which people acquire knowledge and skills that can be implied in relevant curricula, particularly on how to exploit and utilize resources available for micro and macro-development (Galabawa, 2005). The knowledge and skills include those which are concerned with problem-solving, information and communication technology, administration and management, science and technology, research, and languages (Komba, 2012). Such knowledge and skills can be acquired in schools, institutes, colleges, and universities through a given medium of instruction which facilitates communication among the involved parties.

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Section: Theoretical Reviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Perceived Importance of Communication Skills Course among University Students: The Case of Two Universities in Tanzania

Komba

2016

AJOTE

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“…There was, on the other hand, a concurrent trend to make LS/GS the responsibility of particular vocational lecturers, especially those who expressed an interest in such matters -although, in some cases, liberal studies was simply used to 'top up' teaching timetables in order to enable certain staff to fulfil their contractual obligations. Either way, Carroll (1980) argues that both tendencies often led to conservative and individualised practice rather than critically-informed teaching and learning.…”

Section: Liberal Studies: a Brief Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Civilising the Natives? Liberal Studies in Further Education Revisited

Simmons

2014

British Journal of Educational Studies

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This paper uses Basil Bernstein's work on pedagogic discourses to examine a largely neglected facet of the history of vocational education -the liberal studies movement in English further education (FE) colleges. Initially, the paper discusses some of the competing conceptions of education, work and society which underpinned the rise and fall of the liberal studies movement -if indeed it can be described as such. It then draws on data from interviews with former liberal and general studies (LS/GS) lecturers to focus on the ways in which different variants of liberal studies were, over time, implicated in inculcating certain forms of knowledge in vocational learners. Whilst it is acknowledged that LS/GS always represented contested territory and that it was highly variable both in terms of content and quality, the paper argues that, at least and under certain circumstances, liberal studies provided young working-class people with the opportunity to locate their experiences of vocational learning within a critical framework which is largely absent from FE today. This, it is argued, can be conceptualised as an engagement with what Bernstein described as 'powerful knowledge'. Keywords: Liberal studies, further education, Bernstein IntroductionTechnical and vocational education has long been regarded as second best to academic learning, especially in classconscious England where the elite have always favoured a classical education set within exclusive institutional settings (Hyland and Winch, 2007). Work-related learning has traditionally been seen as more appropriate for working-class people, especially when delivered in colleges of further education (FE 1 ), whose chief concern has always been providing the knowledge and skills required for everyday employment (Ainley and Bailey, 1997, p. 2).Yet, from the 1950s until the beginning of the 1980s, virtually all English FE colleges included an element of liberal education in the majority of their vocational courses. At the level of the specific programme such provision was referred to as liberal studies (LS), general studies (GS) or general and communication studies (G&CS), although 1 The term FE college is used to describe a range of institutions which have always been multi-functional but whose main remit has traditionally been providing technical and vocational education and training to individuals over the minimum school-leaving age. During the period dealt with in this paper these included generalist institutions, often known as technical colleges or colleges of further education, and specialist institutions which focused on certain subject areas such as art and design, business or construction. Whilst international comparisons are not straightforward, FE colleges have a number of broad similarities with community colleges in the USA and the TAFE institutes in Australia.2 terms such as complementary studies or contrasting studies were also used to describe such provision. One reason for this disparate terminology was a lack of agreement about the purpose ...

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“…Indeed I have much in sympathy with Carroll (1980) who said that the addition of GS was an easy option, which did little to resolve the criticisms of vocational studies. However the reasons why the broad aims, which have traditionally been the province of GS, cannot be given emphasis within technical education are ideological (an argument developed later in this article).…”

Section: The State Of Gs In Day-releasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…If you recognize the veracity of Carroll's (1980) reference to the inability of technical departments, when timetabling GS classes, to distinguish between 'servicing and seven p.m.', you might expect this to be a subtle reference to GS. But the Survey makes no pretence to subtlety: the sequential paragraph provides an illustrative example, in which the last subject of the day is GS.…”

Section: The State Of Gs In Day-releasementioning

confidence: 99%