Liberal Studies: The State of Play

Eric Bourne, Inspector for Further Education, ILEA, looks at the way general studies are taught in colleges of further education. He suggests that there are two chief streams of thought running through mural studies teaching — an instrumental approach, in which attention is paid to preparing the student for a range of economic problems, and an expository approach involving topic teaching aimed at the exposition of controversial issues. Planned projects, prepared by the entire general studies staff of a college, may help to provide a balanced and effective approach to general studies. The ideas expressed in this article are the personal views of the author.