The first course in speech in selected colleges and universities: A status survey and suggested model

Purpose of the Study. The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the current status of the first course in speech in selected colleges and universities in the State of Louisiana in terms of aims and objectives, content, methodology, and evaluational procedures, (2) to determine the opinions of the heads of the speech departments regarding the relative importance of the aims and objectives, content, methodologies, and evaluational procedures and standards being used in the first course in speech, and (3) to suggest a model for the first course in speech at the college and university level based upon the findings of the study. Procedures and Sources of Data. Data utilized in this study were obtained from personal interviews with the heads of the speech departments in each institution included in the study, professional literature in the field, catalogues from each college or university, bulletins of the Louisiana State Department of Education, and the textbooks used in the basic speech course in each college or university. [...]