Promoting Universal Values in the Face of Societal Change

1
Promoting UniversalValues in the Face of
Societal Change

• The Council of Europe
• Caryn McTighe Musil
• November 20, 2007
• Association of American Colleges and Universities

2

• The first duty of a university is to teach
  wisdom, not a trade, character, not
  technicalities.
• Sir Winston Churchill

3
The Challenge toHigher 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

4
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
5

• There is a new consensus in
• Higher Education
• about
• Essential Learning Needed for the New Global
  Century

6
w w w. a a c u. o r g Association of American
Colleges and Universities
7
Narrow Learning is Not EnoughThe Essential
Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical
  and Natural World
• Intellectual and Practical Skills
• Personal and Social Responsibility
• Integrative Learning

8

• 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

9

• 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

10

• 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

11
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
12
63 of employers believe that too many recent
college graduates do not have the skills to be
successful in todays global economy.
These findings are from a survey of employers
commissioned by AACU and conducted by Peter D.
Hart Associates in November and December 2006.
For full report see www.aacu.org/leap.
13
Employers Endorse Key Elements of Liberal
EducationPercentage 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

14
Employers Endorse Key Elements of Liberal
EducationPercentage of Employers Who Want
Colleges to Place More Emphasis on Key Outcomes
Personal and Social Responsibility Intercult
ural competence (teamwork in diverse
groups) 76 Intercultural knowledge (global
issues) 72 Ethics and values 56 Intercul
tural knowledge (culture values/traditionsUS/Glo
bal) 53
15
Employers Endorse Key Elements of Liberal
EducationPercentage 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
16
Employers Endorse Key Elements of Liberal
EducationPercentage of Employers Who Want
Colleges to Place More Emphasis on Key Outcomes

• Integrative Learning
• Applied knowledge in real-world settings
  73

17
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

18
Bachelors Degree Attainment by Race Twenty-five
to twenty-nine-year-olds
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).
19
Bachelors Degree Attainment by Family
Income By age twenty-four
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).
20
Impact of Educationally Purposeful Practices on
First Academic Year GPA by Race/Ethnicity
21
Impact of Educationally Purposeful Practices on
the Probability of Returning for the Second Year
of College by Race
22
A New Framework for Excellence

• Principle One Aim Highand Make Excellence
  Inclusive
• Principle Two Give Students a Compass
• Principle Three Teach the Arts of Inquiry and
  Innovation
• Principle Four Engage the Big Questions

• Principle Five Connect Knowledge with Choices
  and Action
• Principle Six Foster Civic, Intercultural, and
  Ethical Learning
• Principle Seven Assess Students Ability to
  Apply Learning to Complex Problems

23
The Principles of Excellence
Principle One Aim Highand 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 Students Plan of Study on
Achieving the Essential Learning Outcomesand
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
24
The Principles of Excellence
Principle Four Engage the Big
Questions Teach through the Curriculum to
Far-Reaching Issues Contemporary and
Enduringin 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
25

• 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

26
For More Information Visit AACUs website
at www.aacu Also visit AACUs Newsletter,
Diversity and Democracy at www.diversityweb.org T
o reach Caryn McTighe Musil, email
musil_at_aacu.org