General education and the basic course in communication

From Luke LeFebvre (2016) Team-based learning for the basic communication course: a transformative pedagogical approach, Review of Communication, 16:2-3, 192-212, DOI: 10.1080/15358593.2016.1187454

The purpose of general education is to prepare individuals to produce basic democratic functions within their community.5 Specifically, general education is concerned with the relational development of the individual to its democracy. General education places the individual into a larger context of society in order to work as part of a community, solve problems, and shape the future.6 Therefore, general education provides an academic platform for students to develop effective communication skills for a variety of different purposes to create shared meaning with other people.7 The fundamental vision of general education is the preparation of democratic citizens.
The basic course in communication fulfills the general education mission by teaching students, approximately 1.3 million yearly across the United States, the principles of public speaking.8 These communication skills are precisely what college graduates need in order to speak publicly and competently about important issues in society, and to make signifi- cant contributions to the greater social good.9