Empirical evidence for the value of a liberal arts education- how and why it has a lasting impact on success, leadership, altruism, learning, and fulfillment.
Empirical evidence for the value of a liberal arts education- how and why it has a lasting impact on success, leadership, altruism, learning, and fulfillment.
In ongoing debates over the value of a college education, the role of the liberal arts in higher education has been blamed by some for making college expensive, impractical, and even worthless. Defenders argue that liberal arts education makes society innovative, creative, and civic-minded. But these qualities are hard to quantify, and many critics of higher education call for courses of study to be strictly job-specific. In this groundbreaking book, Richard Detweiler, drawing on interviews with more than 1,000 college graduates aged 25 to 65, offers empirical evidence for the value of a liberal arts education. Detweiler finds that a liberal arts education has a lasting impact on success, leadership, altruism, learning, and fulfillment over a lifetime.
Unlike other defenders of a liberal arts education, Detweiler doesn't rely on philosophical arguments or anecdotes but on data. He developed a series of interview questions related to the content attributes of liberal arts (for example, course assignments and majors), the context attributes (out-of-class interaction with faculty and students, teaching methods, campus life), and the purpose attributes (adult life outcomes). Interview responses show that although both the content of study and the educational context are associated with significant life outcomes, the content of study has less relationship to positive adult life outcomes than the educational context. The implications of this research, Detweiler points out, range from the advantages of broadening areas of study to factors that could influence students' decisions to attend certain colleges.
By:
Richard A. Detweiler
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 368g
ISBN: 9780262543101
ISBN 10: 0262543109
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 23 November 2021
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Chapter 1: Our Puzzle Chapter 2: An Educational Ecology: Higher Learning through Purpose, Content, and Context Chapter 3: The Liberal Arts versus The World Chapter 4: Today's Education in the Tradition of the Liberal Arts: Purpose, Content, and Context Chapter 5: Understanding the Impact of College Experiences on Adult Life: The Research Approach Chapter 6: Research Outcomes: Lives of Consequence as Leaders and Altruists Chapter 7: Research Outcomes: Lives of Inquiry through Continued Learning and Cultural Involvement Chapter 8: Research Outcomes: Lives of Accomplishment through a Fulfilled and Successful Life Chapter 9: The Brain and Impact Education Chapter 10: The Question of Value: Impact Education Chapter 11: Capturing Impact: Implications and Value Chapter 12: Becoming Higher Educated and the Liberal Arts Appendix 1: The Question of Cause and Effect Appendix 2: Attributes of Participants and Colleges Attended Appendix 3: Liberal Arts Practices, Not Institutions Appendix 4: Data Considerations, Demographics, and Statistical Approach Appendix 5: Statistical Results Notes Bibliography Index
Richard A. Detweiler is President Emeritus of the Great Lakes Colleges Association and Founder and Managing Director of Higher Ed Impact.
Reviews for The Evidence Liberal Arts Needs: Lives of Consequence, Inquiry, and Accomplishment
[A] superb source for those wanting a clear explanation of the value of the liberal arts. -Forbes
