Transcript Promoting Universal Values in the Face of Societal Change The Council of Europe Caryn McTighe Musil November 20, 2007 Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Promoting Universal
Values in the Face of Societal
Change
The Council of Europe
Caryn McTighe Musil
November 20, 2007
Association of American Colleges and Universities
“The first duty of a university is to
teach wisdom, not a trade,
character, not technicalities.”
Sir Winston Churchill
The Challenge to
Higher Education
Our world cannot survive one-fourth rich
and three-fourths poor, half democratic
and half authoritarian with oases of
human development surrounded by
deserts of human deprivation.
United Nations Human Development
Report, 1994
“Of all the civil rights
for which the world has
struggled and fought for
5,000 years, the right to
learn is undoubtedly the
most fundamental.”
—W.E.B. DuBois
There is a new consensus in
Higher Education
about
Essential Learning Needed for the
New Global Century
w w w. a a c u. o r g
Association of American
Colleges and Universities
Narrow Learning is Not Enough—
The Essential Learning Outcomes

Knowledge of Human Cultures and
the Physical and Natural World

Intellectual and Practical Skills

Personal and Social Responsibility

Integrative Learning
Knowledge of Human Cultures and
the Physical and Natural World
Through study in the sciences and
mathematics, social sciences,
humanities, histories, languages, and
the arts
Focused by engagement with big questions
both contemporary and enduring
Intellectual and Practical Skills






Inquiry and analysis
Critical and creative thinking
Written and oral communication
Quantitative literacy
Information literacy
Teamwork and problem solving
Practiced extensively in the context of
progressively more challenging problems,
projects, and standards for performances
Personal and Social Responsibility
• Civic knowledge and engagement—
local and global
• Intercultural knowledge and
competence
• Ethical reasoning and action
• Foundations and skills for lifelong
learning
Anchored through active involvement with diverse
communities and real-world challenges
Integrative and Applied Learning
• Synthesis and advanced
accomplishment across general
and specialized studies
Demonstrated through the application of
knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new
settings and complex problems
63% of employers
believe that too many
recent college graduates do
not have the skills to be
successful in today’s global
economy.
These findings are from a survey of employers commissioned by
AAC&U and conducted by Peter D. Hart Associates in November
and December 2006. For full report see www.aacu.org/leap.
Employers Endorse Key
Elements of Liberal Education
Percentage of Employers Who Want Colleges to
“Place More Emphasis” on Key Outcomes
Knowledge of Human Cultures and the
Physical and Natural World
Science and Technology
82%
Global issues
72%
The role of the US in the world
60%
Cultural values/traditions (US/Global)
53%
Employers Endorse Key
Elements of Liberal Education
Percentage of Employers Who Want Colleges to
“Place More Emphasis” on Key Outcomes
Personal and Social Responsibility
Intercultural competence
(teamwork in diverse groups)
76%
Intercultural knowledge
(global issues)
72%
Ethics and values
56%
Intercultural knowledge
(culture values/traditions—US/Global)
53%
Employers Endorse Key
Elements of Liberal Education
Percentage of Employers Who Want Colleges to
“Place More Emphasis” on Key Outcomes
Intellectual and Practical Skills
Teamwork skills in diverse groups
76%
Critical thinking and analytic reasoning
73%
Written and oral communication
73%
Information literacy
70%
Creativity and Innovation
70%
Complex problem solving
64%
Employers Endorse Key
Elements of Liberal Education
Percentage of Employers Who Want Colleges to
“Place More Emphasis” on Key Outcomes
Integrative Learning
Applied knowledge in real-world settings
73%
Effective Educational Practices
 First-Year Seminars and Experiences
 Common Intellectual Experiences
 Learning Communities
 Writing-Intensive Courses
 Collaborative Assignments and Projects
 “Science as Science Is Done”/Undergraduate Research
 Diversity/Global Learning
 Service Learning, Community-Based Learning
 Internships
 Capstone Courses and Projects
Bachelor’s Degree Attainment by Race
Twenty-five to twenty-nine-year-olds
40%
20%
0%
Hispanic, 11%
Black, 18%
Source: US Department of Education, The Condition of
Education 2006. Table 31-3. “Family Income and Higher
Education Opportunity 1970-2003.” Postsecondary
Education Opportunity, no. 156 (2005).
White, 34%
Bachelor’s Degree Attainment by
Family Income
By age twenty-four
Top Income
Quartile, 75.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
Third Quartile,
27.7%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
Bottom
Quartile,
8.6%
Second
Quartile, 13.2%
0.0%
Source: US Department of Education, The Condition
of Education 2006. Table 31-3. “Family Income and
Higher Education Opportunity 1970-2003.”
Postsecondary Education Opportunity, no. 156 (2005).
Impact of Educationally Purposeful Practices on First
Academic Year GPA by Race/Ethnicity
4.00
First-year GPA
3.75
3.50
3.25
3.00
2.75
2.50
Hispanic
White
2.25
2.00
-2
-1
0
1
2
Educationally Purposeful Activities
(standardized)
Impact of Educationally Purposeful Practices on the Probability
of Returning for the Second Year of College by Race
1.00
Probabilyt of Returning
0.95
0.90
0.85
0.80
0.75
0.70
0.65
0.60
African American
0.55
White/Caucasian
0.50
-2
-1
0
1
Educationally Purposeful Activities
(standardized)
2
A New Framework for Excellence
Principle One
Principle Five
Aim High—and Make Excellence Inclusive
Connect Knowledge with
Choices and Action
Principle Two
Give Students a Compass
Principle Three
Teach the Arts of Inquiry and Innovation
Principle Four
Engage the Big Questions
Principle Six
Foster Civic, Intercultural, and
Ethical Learning
Principle Seven
Assess Students’ Ability to Apply
Learning to Complex Problems
The Principles of Excellence
Principle One: Aim High—and Make Excellence Inclusive
Make the Essential Learning Outcomes a Framework for the entire
Educational Experience, Connecting School, College, Work, and Life
Principle Two: Give Students a Compass
Focus Each Student’s Plan of Study on Achieving the Essential
Learning Outcomes—and Assess Progress
Principle Three: Teach the Arts of Inquiry and Innovation
Immerse All Students in Analysis, Discovery, Problem Solving, and
Communication, Beginning in School and Advancing in College
College Learning for the New Global Century, 2007
The Principles of Excellence
Principle Four: Engage the Big Questions
Teach through the Curriculum to Far-Reaching Issues—
Contemporary and Enduring—in Science and Society,
Cultures and Values, Global Interdependence, the Changing
Economy, and Human Dignity and Freedom
Principle Five: Connect Knowledge with Choices and Action
Prepare Students for Citizenship and Work through Engaged and Guided
Learning on “Real-World” Problems
Principle Six: Foster Civic, Intercultural, and Ethical Learning
Emphasize Personal and Social Responsibility, in Every Field of Study
Principle Seven: Assess Students’ Ability to Apply Learning to
Complex Problems
Use Assessment to Deepen Learning and to Establish a Culture of Shared
Purpose and Continuous Improvement
College Learning for the New Global Century, 2007
“When minds close, democracy
begins to close. . .
Democracy invites us to take risks.
It asks that we vacate the comfortable
seat of certitude, remain pliable, and
act, ultimately,
in behalf of the common good.”
Terry Tempest Williams
For More Information
Visit AAC&U’s website at
www.aacu
Also visit AAC&U’s Newsletter,
Diversity and Democracy at
www.diversityweb.org
To reach Caryn McTighe Musil,
email [email protected]