DRAFT

Prepared for the Presidents’ Trust

by

Carol Schneider, Association of American College & Universities

The Civic Case for

Liberal Education

“Some men see things as they are

and say why? I dream things that

never were and say, why not?”

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Quoting George Bernard Shaw

Overview

1. The Challenges We Face

2. Liberal Education and Civic

Capacity

3. Liberal Education in Historical and

Contemporary Perspective

4. Taking the Lead in Educating for

Personal and Social Responsibility

5. But, We’re Only Half-Way There

6. What Next?

The Challenges We Face

The Challenges Americans

Face Are Daunting

Within Our Borders,

And in the Global Community

Challenges Within Our Borders

Cultures – Multiple and Multiplying

Economy – In the Midst of Painful

Dislocations and Volatility

Society – Riven Over Immigration

and Other “Social Questions”

Politics – Contentious, Fractured,

Declining Confidence in Public Sector

The Communications and Technology

Revolutions...And Their Effects in All

Sectors

Education and Equity: Generations of

Children Still Left Behind

Social Mobility, the Environment, an

Aging Population

A Decaying Infrastructure...and More

Within Our Borders...

Global Challenges

Poverty, War, Suffering... Sustenance and Human Dignity

Illiteracy and Its Effects... Education and Opportunity

Energy and the Environment... Research and Innovation

Terrorism and Fear... Law, Justice, Democracy, Freedom

Global Challenges (Cont.)

The United States’ Historic Role in Global Leadership

And as a Voice and Force for Democratic Values and Democratic Self-Determination

The Issues at Home and

Abroad Are Immense

Rising to These Challenges Will

Require Civic Will, Capacity, and

Commitment – the Determination to

Tackle Hard Questions – in All Their

Complexity

While the Societal Challenges

We Face Are Great...

Higher Education Is Now Poised

to Bring New Civic Capacity to

Help Meet These Challenges

College 2010 and Beyond

In Unprecedented Numbers, Americans

of All Ages Are Flocking to College

Including 70% of Recent High School

Graduates

And, It Is Now a National Goal for At Least

60% of All Americans to Complete a College

Degree

Will We Seize This Opportunity

to Build New Civic Capacity to

Solve Societal Problems —Or

Not?

Our Civic Choices Will

Shape Our Future

Fostering Civic Capacity

Many Americans Think Citizenship

Begins and Ends with Voting.

But Voting—While Important—IS

Only the Bare Minimum.

A Vibrant Democracy Needs and

Must Foster Broad Civic Capacity.

Ben Barber on Education and

Citizenship

“The fundamental task of education in a

democracy is the apprenticeship of liberty—

learning to be free... The literacy required to

live in civil society, the competence to

participate in democratic communities, the

ability to think critically and act deliberately in

a pluralistic world, the empathy that permits

us to hear and thus accommodate others, all

involve skills that must be acquired

(emphasis added)...”

An Aristocracy of Everyone, 1992

Ben Barber on Education and

Citizenship

“Democracy is not a natural form...; it is an

extraordinary and rare contrivance of

cultivated imagination... [E]ndow the

uneducated with a right to make collective

decisions and what results is not democracy

but...the government of private prejudice and

the tyranny of opinion...”

An Aristocracy of Everyone, 1992

Civic Learning and the Schools

“In recent years, the schools have stopped

teaching [civics education]….Half the states no

longer make it a requirement to get out of high

school, if you can believe it. And it's -- it's really

a remarkable withdrawal from the very purpose

we had originally for public schools.”

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor,

Interview on The News Hour, October 13, 2010

Civic Capacity Requires

Critical Inquiry and Knowledge

Commitment and Active

Engagement Across Difference of

Many Kinds

Deliberative Dialogues and

Collaborative Problem-Solving

Civic Capacity Also Requires

A Developed Sense of Civic Identity

The Recognition that WE Are

Responsible – We the People

The Determination and the

Commitment to Stay the Course, Do

the Hard Work – And, Together, to

Create a Better Tomorrow

America’s Best Hope

Civic Capacity is Developed Through

Education – and Liberal Education is the

Crucial Key Both to New Civic Capacity

And to Meeting the Challenges We Face

at Home and Abroad

Liberal Education and

Civic Capacity

Traditionally and Today,

the Only College

Curriculum that Focuses on

Nurturing Civic Capacity is

Liberal Education

Liberal Education – By Design –

Builds Both Capacity

(rich knowledge, high level skills;

social imagination)

AND the Commitment

(an examined sense of ethical and

civic responsibility)

To Create and Test Responsible

Solutions – and to Learn with and

for Others – Not Just Ourselves

The Aims & Outcomes of

Liberal Education

1. Rich Knowledge – of Human Cultures

and the Physical and Natural Worlds

Knowledge that can be applied to big societal,

scientific, and global challenges; knowledge of

the diverse peoples who must work together to

solve our problems of health, human dignity, and

sustainable communities

2. Intellectual and Practical Skills

Especially the capacity to deliberate and reason

together, across differences of many kinds

Testing solutions, and discovering “what works”

The Aims & Outcomes of

Liberal Education (cont.)

3. Personal and Social Responsibility

Ethical reasoning and action

Intercultural knowledge and engagement

Perspective taking and the capacity to work with

people and communities different from one’s own

Democratic values – including a strong respect for

human dignity and active citizenship

4. Integrative and Applied Learning

The demonstrated ability to apply knowledge,

skills, AND a developed sense of responsibility to

complex problems and new challenges

But in Higher Education Today,

Not Every Student Actually

Gets a Liberal Education

Many Are Steered to Narrow,

Technical Training, Largely Devoid

of the Studies—in the Sciences, the

Humanities, the Social Sciences

and the Arts—that Build Civic

Vision, Understanding, Creativity,

and Leadership

First-Generation Students

Frequently Miss Out on

Liberal Education

First-generation students take fewer

courses than others in mathematics,

science, social studies, humanities,

history, foreign languages, or

computer science.

From National Center for Education Statistics, First-Generation Students in Postsecondary

Education: A Look at Their College Transcripts. (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education,

2005).

First-Generation Students Are

Over-Represented in So-Called

“Career and Technical Programs”

and in For-Profit Institutions that

Never Were Designed to Foster

Either Broad Knowledge or

Civic Capacity

Prominent Policy Leaders Are

Vigorously Promoting Short-Term

Technical Certificates for

First-Generation Students –

Faster, Less Costly, Directly Attuned to

Workforce Priorities

Such programs typically include NO studies

in the humanities or social sciences

Is It Possible to Be Civically

and Globally Prepared Without

Any Study of:

World histories?

Global cultures?

Political, economic, and social systems

and challenges?

The ideas and institutions that support

constitutional democracy?

The great religious and philosophical

traditions?

What We Need – Today – from the

Higher Education Community, Is the

Civic Commitment to Ensure that

Every Student Gets a Liberal

Education While in College

We Have Made that Commitment at X Institution,

and We Are Proud to Be a Leader in Making

Civic and Democratic Learning—at Home and

Abroad—a Top Priority for Our Students, Our

Faculty, Our Staff—and through Their Efforts—

an Important Resource for Our Community

Here Is What

Our Campus Is Doing

Mission

Learning Outcomes

Signature Programs

Community Partnerships

Liberal Education in

Historical Perspective

Liberal Education and Citizenship in

Historical Perspective

In connecting “liberal education to citizenship,

we are...drawing on Socrates’ concept of the

‘examined life,’ on Aristotle’s notions of reflective

citizenship, and above all on Greek and Roman

Stoic notions of an education that is ‘liberal’ in

that it liberates the mind from bondage of habit

and custom, producing people who can function

with sensitivity and alertness as citizens of the

whole world.” Martha Nussbaum

Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education, 1998

Liberal Education and Citizenship

in Historical Perspective (cont.) “Liber” = Latin for “Free Person”

Thomas Jefferson and other

revolutionary leaders saw the close ties

between liberal education and the

sustainability of our republic.

Liberal Education and Citizenship

in Historical Perspective (cont.)

“Those persons, whom nature has endowed

with genius and virtue, should be rendered

by liberal education worthy to receive, and

able to guard the sacred deposit of the rights

and liberties of their fellow citizens; and ...

they should be called to that charge without

regard to wealth, birth or other accidental

condition or circumstance.” Thomas Jefferson, 1779

(emphasis added)

Liberal Education and Citizenship

in Historical Perspective (cont.)

“Knowledge is, in every country, the surest

basis of public happiness.” George Washington, 1790

“A flourishing state of the arts and sciences

contributes to national prosperity and

reputation.” George Washington, 1796

Liberal Education and Citizenship

in Historical Perspective (cont.)

The Purpose of the Land Grant Colleges:

“...to promote the liberal and practical

education of the industrial classes in the

several pursuits and professions in life.” The Morrill Act of 1862

The Report of the Truman Commission

on Higher Education – 1947, Vol. 1

The “principal goals” of higher education are

“to bring to all the people of the Nation:

Education for a fuller realization of democracy

in every phase of living;

Education directly and explicitly for

international understanding and

cooperation

Education for the application of creative

imagination and trained intelligence to the

solution of social problems. ...”

The Truman Commission Report (cont.)

“Present college programs are not

contributing adequately to….students’ adult

lives either as workers or as citizens. This

is…because the unity of liberal education

has been splintered….

General education undertakes to redefine

liberal education in terms of life’s

problems…[and] the service of democracy.

It extends to all men the benefits of an

education that liberates.” (emphasis added)

Liberal Education in

Contemporary Perspective

In earlier eras, only a few

people went to college, and

the task of building civic

knowledge and commitment

was assigned primarily to the

public schools.

Liberal Education and Citizenship

in Contemporary Perspective

Today, with college becoming

expected rather than optional, we

have a new opportunity to turn

Jefferson’s “natural aristocracy” of

the very few into what democracy

scholar Benjamin Barber calls:

An Aristocracy of Everyone

(New York, 1992)

“The object of education is the

freedom of mind which can only be

achieved through the path of

freedom – though freedom has its

risk and responsibility as life itself

has.” Rabindranath Tagore, “My School”

AAC&U on Preparing Students for a

Diverse Democracy

“Today, the United States is in a new period of

societal negotiation... This period...begs for

elucidation, for intelligent dialogue, for historical

perspective, for willingness to hear all parts of our

communities as we consider the American future.

Where better to set and model higher standards for

these explorations than our campuses, communities

dedicated by mission to the quest of knowledge,

wisdom, and the expansion of human capacity?”

Frank Wong et al.

The Drama of Diversity and Democracy, (AAC&U,1995)

Diversity and Democracy

“...[F]or this society actually to achieve its full

potential ...we need to make citizenship matter. We

need to move beyond mere tolerance to joint action.

The thing to celebrate is not diversity per se, but what

we do with diversity…. Public education, national

service and other shared civic experiences matter

because they enable diverse Americans to work side

by side, step into each other’s shoes, develop a

capacity for empathy, and create deeper a basis for

common national identity.” Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer

The True Patriot, 2007

Taking the Lead in

Educating for Personal and

Social Responsibility

Today, Higher Education

Is Poised and Ready to

Provide New National

Leadership in Educating

Citizens for the

Challenges We Face,

at Home and Abroad

National Initiatives to Connect

College Learning & Civic Challenges

Campus Compact

The American Democracy Project

AAC&U’s LEAP Initiative

including the Shared Futures and Core

Commitments projects

Bringing Theory to Practice

Project Pericles

And Many Others...

Today, Hundreds of Colleges

and Universities Are Placing

New Emphasis Both on the

Broad Aims of Liberal

Education AND on

Developing Students’ Personal

and Social Responsibility –

Their Civic Capacities.

AAC&U Member Institutions’ Learning

Outcomes for All Students

Outcomes that Build Civic Knowledge and Capacity

Humanities 92%

Global/World Cultures 87%

Diversity in the United States 73%

United States History 49%

Sustainability 24%

Critical Thinking 95%

Intercultural Skills 79%

Ethical Reasoning 75%

Civic Engagement 68%

Application of Learning 66%

Note: Nearly 80% of AAC&U member institutions surveyed reported that they had a common set of learning

outcomes for all students. Percentages cited are the percentage of those with campus-wide goals reporting

that this outcome is one of their learning goals for all students. For a full list of outcomes, see

www.aacu.org/leap and Learning and Assessment: Trends in Undergraduate Education (AAC&U and Hart

Research Associates, 2009)

Faculty Members Are Placing

New Emphasis on the

Personal and Social

Responsibility Outcomes that

Build Students’ Civic Capacity

and Engagement

HERI/CIRP 2007-08 Faculty Survey Findings

Faculty Goals for Undergraduate

Education

2004-05 2007-08 % Change

Teach tolerance/respect for different

beliefs 82.5

Enhance students’ knowledge of and

appreciation for other racial/ethnic groups 57.6 75.2 17.6

Engage students in civil discourse around

controversial issues 72.4

Enhance students’ self-understanding 58.4 71.8 13.4

Develop moral character 57.1 70.2 13.1

Help students develop personal values 50.8 66.1 15.3

Instill a commitment to community service 36.4 55.5 19.1

Percentage of Faculty saying that this outcome is “very important” or

“essential”

Collectively, Faculty Members

Have Created New Educational

Practices that Move Civic

Questions and Problem-

Solving to the Center

Educational Practices that Build

Civic Capacity

First-Year Seminars and Experiences – widely adopted across the country,

these courses often focus on societal questions and intercultural learning

Learning Communities – feature topically linked sets of courses that

examine problems like hunger, poverty, or energy from diverse disciplinary

and societal perspectives

Common Intellectual Experiences – these programs of common study

often probe questions about the nature of a “good society” and individual

responsibilities to self and others

Service Learning – over the past two decades, service learning has

become a top priority for connecting college learning directly with society’s

urgent problems and with community partners that are working to solve

them

Educational Practices (cont.)

Collaborative Assignments and Projects – expected in many courses and

programs, these group assignments build capacities that are fundamental

for active citizenship and effective problem-solving

Undergraduate Research – opportunities to work with scholars on unsolved

problems help college students learn the arts of “evidence-based

reasoning” which is fundamental to effective citizenship as well as to

scholarship

Diversity/Global Learning – these programs build direct knowledge of

people, communities, and challenges different from one’s own; they build

civic vision and capacity

Capstone Courses and Projects – often required in students’ majors, these

culminating experiences frequently provide opportunities for students to

apply their knowledge and skills to important problems that we face, at

home, abroad, or both.

Here Are the Signature Programs that

Build Civic Knowledge, Engagement

and Capacity at Your Institution

But Isn’t Higher Education Really About Preparing

Students for Jobs?

“... [W]e are not forced to choose. ...

A flourishing economy requires the

same skills that support citizenship.” Martha Nussbaum

“The Liberal Arts Are Not Elitist”

Chronicle of Higher Education, June 10, 2010

Employers Endorse Many Outcomes

that Build Both Civic Capacity and

Work Readiness

Critical Thinking & Analytical Skills 81%

Applied Knowledge in Real-World Settings 79%

Ethical Decision Making 75%

Intercultural Competence 67%

Global Issues 67%

The Role of the U.S. in the World 57%

Cultural Diversity in the U.S. and Other Countries 57%

Civic Knowledge, Participation, and Knowledge 52%

Percentage of Employers Saying Colleges Should Place More

Emphasis on Outcomes

These findings are taken from Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the

Economic Downturn, a survey of employers conducted for AAC&U by Hart Research Associates and

published in 2010. For a full report on this survey and related employer findings, see www.aacu.org/leap.

In Building Civic Capacity,

We Also Are

Ensuring Economic Vitality

“Liberally educated people have the

wherewithal to do well and to do

good both for themselves and for

their communities and society.” Grant Cornwell

President, The College of Wooster