ERIC EJ861148: Strengthening the Foundations of Students' Excellence, Integrity, and Social Contribution

2009·0.83 MB·English

by  ERIC

ANNE COLBY AND WILLIAM M. SULLIVAN
Strengthening
the Foundations of
Students’ Excellence,
Integrity, and
Social Contribution
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D
E INITSLIBERALEDUCATIONand America’s that, despite evidence to the contrary, many
R Promise (LEAP) initiative, the Association of educators hope and expect that these out-
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American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) comes will be achieved as by-products of a
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A outlines four clusters of learning outcomes college education, that they do not require
E that are essential for all college students in the explicit attention.
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twenty-first century and that, taken together, The relative lack of institutional invest-
represent a high-qual- ment in students’ personal and social respon-
ity liberal education. sibility reflects the widespread assumption
These include (1) knowledge of human cul- that academic content knowledge and the in-
If colleges could tures and the physical and natural world, (2) tellectual skill of analytic or critical thinking,
intellectual and practical skills, (3) personal quite divorced from either action or responsi-
successfully
and social responsibility, and (4) integrative bility, are the overriding aims of higher educa-
expand beyond the
and applied learning. Core Commitments, a tion and that the development of personal
critical–thinking related AAC&Uinitiative, focuses specifically and social responsibility is only distantly con-
agenda, American on the third of these clusters. This initiative is nected with those aims. In what follows, we
designed to strengthen the academy’s capac- take issue with both of these assumptions, ar-
higher education
ity to foster students’ personal and social re- guing that colleges should aim to teach stu-
would have a much
sponsibility. In order to clarify what that dents how to use knowledge and criticism not
better chance of means, the Core Commitments initiative has only as ends in themselves but also as means
achieving the goals outlined five key goals within the broader toward responsible engagement with the life
category of personal and social responsibility of their times. We also argue that this can be
of personal and
(see sidebar p. 23). accomplished best by addressing some core
social responsibility
Initial surveys conducted for the Core developmental dimensions or processes that
Commitments initiative have shown strong underlie and tie together the various elements
consensus among faculty, administrators, and of personal and social responsibility articu-
students that these five aspects of personal and lated by the Core Commitments initiative.
social responsibility are important goals of a
college education. Unfortunately, however, Developmental foundations of
many fewer respondents say that their institu- personal and social responsibility
tion is working toward these goals in an effec- Each of the five Core Commitments goals in-
tive way. Why are so few institutions working volves many factors, and large bodies of re-
to achieve these outcomes if so many acknowl- search point to the particular configurations
edgetheir importance? A likely explanation is that make each of them unique. Despite their
distinctiveness, however, the five goals share
ANNE COLBY and WILLIAM M. SULLIVAN are some underlying dynamics and sources. In or-
senior scholars at the Carnegie Foundation for the der to uncover the developmental logic that
Advancement of Teaching. we believe underlies these five outcomes, we
22 LIBERAL EDUCATION WINTER 2009
The College of William and Mary
including many older students, to question
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I and redefine their core sense of who they are.
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Educators have the potential to contribute to
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T Five Key Dimensions of that process in ways that help students build
Personal and Social Responsibility into that evolving sense of self positive ideals,
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E concern for the common good, and a strong
R 1. Striving for excellence: developing a sense of responsibility.
U strong work ethic and consciously doing
An identity that is well grounded in positive
T one’s very best in all aspects of college
A values is closely linked to the second process
2. Cultivating personal and academic
E we want to highlight: the development of a
F integrity: recognizing and acting on a
sense of purpose. Recent research shows how
sense of honor, ranging from honesty in
powerfully motivating a sense of purpose can
relationships to principled engagement
with a formal academic honor code be, and how important it can be in supporting
3. Contributing to a larger community: young people’s desire to learn. In The Path to
recognizing and acting on one’s responsi- Purpose, William Damon (2008) defines pur-
bilityto the educational community and pose as a stable and generalized intention to
to the wider society—local, national, accomplish something that is at the same
and global time meaningful to the self and consequential
4. Taking seriously the perspectives of oth-
for the world beyond the self. Purpose brings
ers: recognizing and acting on the oblig-
people, including young people, outside
ation to inform one’s own judgment;
themselves and into activities that are in-
engaging diverse and competing perspec-
tensely engrossing.
tives as a resource for learning, citizen-
The pursuit of ends larger than the self also
ship, and work
5. Developing competence in ethical and creates strong resilience and well-being. Da-
moral reasoning: developing ethical and mon (2008) reports this finding in his studies
moral reasoning in ways that incorporate of adolescents and young adults, and Colby
the previous four dimensions, and using and Damon (1992) found similar dynamics at
such reasoning in learning and in life work in the morally exceptional adults pro-
filed in their book, Some Do Care. It is note-
worthy in this regard that in his influential
studies of happiness, Martin Seligman (2002)
have suggested three developmental dimen- points to absorption in a challenging activity,
sions that form a common foundation for the particularly one that makes a contribution to
apparently separate elements of personal and something beyond the self, as the most reli-
social responsibility. We will consider how able source of well-being.
each of those elements depends upon the Forming an identity and developing pur-
processes of identity formation, cultivation pose are deeply implicated in the cultivation
of purpose, and learning to put knowledge to of a “life of the mind,” the formation of a dis-
responsible use in practical reasoning. First, position of reflection and criticism. Since
then, we need to understand in outline each of identity and purpose are powerful motivators,
these developmental dimensions or processes. their proper development contributes signifi-
By identity formation, we mean the devel- cantly to genuine intellectual engagement.
opment of the contents and dynamics of an But they also help individuals connect intel-
individual’s special, identifiable sense of self lectual growth with more informed and re-
and, ultimately, his or her subjective sense of sponsible action, with developing a life of the
individuality, continuity, coherence, and mind for practice. In A New Agenda for Higher
agency. An identity that has these qualities is Education: A Life of the Mind for Practice,
a powerful motivational force. Research in William Sullivan and Matthew Rosin (2008)
moral, civic, and political development, for call the cultivation of this capacity to put
example, shows the critical role that moral knowledge to responsible use “practical rea-
and civic identity play in making espoused soning.” Unfortunately, higher education pays
values real in one’s actual behavior (Colby et al. relatively little attention to fostering this
2003; Youniss and Yates 1997). We know that productive interplay of ideas and their use in
college is a prime moment in life for students, life. Yet, just that is at the core of liberal
24 LIBERAL EDUCATION WINTER 2009
Since identity
education’s goal of ensuring and purpose are When the goals students are
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that students will gain from powerful motivators, pursuing are more fundamen- I
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their college experience the tal and long-term, extending
their proper development O
ability to use knowledge and beyond instrumentality, they T
reflection to inform their contributes significantly represent the kind of life
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judgment in complex worlds to genuine intellectual purpose that Damon has de- E
of practice and to shape their engagement scribed. Purpose in this sense R
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own lives for critical engage- supports exceptionally robust
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ment in the world. motivation that leads people to A
All three of these processes—the formation work extremely hard, persisting even in the E
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of identity, the cultivation of life purpose, and face of serious obstacles. In studies of the de-
the practice of relating ideas to life and re- velopment of expertise through professional
sponsibility—are involved in achieving the education reported in their book, Surpassing
five dimensions of personal and social respon- Ourselves, Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scar-
sibility highlighted by the Core Commitments damalia (1993) point to a sense of intrinsic
initiative. The three foundational processes fascination and intense engagement or flow as
provide an essential developmental nexus for one of the key factors that lead people to keep
fostering those dimensions. This is evident from investing in their own deepening expertise over
a brief examination of each of the Core Com- time, well beyond the end of their formal edu-
mitments goals with our three developmental cation. Evidence suggests that the better stu-
processes in mind. dents understand and the more they embrace
Consider the first, and most fundamental, the larger significance of what is being learned,
of the five: a consistent pattern of striving for the more likely is this attitude of fascination and
excellence. In order for students to engage re- the greater the likelihood that they will make
sponsibly with their work, they need a sense of striving for excellence their basic disposition.
themselves as conscientious (“I am the kind of The second outcome articulated by the
person who fulfills his obligations and can be Core Commitments initiative, the cultivation
counted on to do a competent job”). If the ma- of personal and academic integrity, is equally
jority of students could be helped to rise to this connected to the underlying developmental
degree of conscientious effort, that would be an
impressive achievement in itself. But we be-
lieve that a more ambitious educational goal is
achievable—a drive for real excellence, both
during college and beyond. The development
of knowledge-in-action and a sense of purpose
can both contribute to achieving that goal.
One key to fostering the pursuit of excel-
lence is to help students see and feel a strong
connection between their own goals and the
subjects they are learning, so that they find
themselves saying: “I need to know that! I see
how to use it.” In order to feel this way, stu-
dents need to experience engagement with
the world so that they grasp the practical, per-
sonal, and moral significance of what they
are learning. Hence, the importance of practi-
cal reasoning. We see this in the best kind of
preparation for a career: teaching practices
that place students in their future roles as
businesspeople or nurses or teachers or other
professionals so that they can experience the
many dimensions of knowledge, skill, and re-
sponsibility needed to practice these demand-
ing occupations. Bentley College
WINTER 2009 LIBERAL EDUCATION 25
In order to protect
processes we have been de- against academic intrinsic rather than extrinsic
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I scribing. The key factor for misconduct, interest—a sense of purpose
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developing and maintaining and meaning in the work it-
O the desire to learn
T integrity throughout life is a self. For this reason, learning
sense of self or identity in has to be grounded only for the sake of future ad-
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E which ethical values are cen- in something beyond vancement is not enough for
R tral. To support academic in- self-promotion integrity. A focus on competi-
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tegrity, this must include a tion for the best jobs or gradu-
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A strong sense of oneself as hon- ate schools rather than on a
E est and trustworthy. desire for real excellence in a calling can even
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But identity is not the whole story. The per- increase cheating.
ception that knowledge is useful for pursuing For the third Core Commitments outcome,
one’s goals plays a major role as well. If stu- contributing to a larger community, a sense of
dents are really trying to learn, if they believe purpose comes to center stage from the outset.
they need the knowledge and skills being Making a contribution beyond the self is what
taught, there is less incentive to cheat. How- a sense of purpose is all about. Importantly,
ever, in order to protect against academic lasting commitment develops most effectively
misconduct, the desire to learn has to be when young people find their own sense of
grounded in something beyond self-promo- purpose, which means that they have a real
tion, which points again to the importance of passion and desire to make a particular kindof
Clark University
26 LIBERAL EDUCATION WINTER 2009
contribution. So again, opportunities to expe- provide—one that is tied to engaged experi-
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rience, reflect upon, and practice such en- ence and practice, along with reflection on I
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gagements are critical to students’ achieving that practice.
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this kind of commitment. This is borne out by T
research—our own and others’. Beyond critical thinking
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The fourth Core Commitments outcome, If college educators generally agree that these E
taking seriously the perspectives of others— five Core Commitments goals are important, R
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the capacity to be open-minded and look at why, then, are they so rarely a priority in edu-
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issues and situations from others’ points of cational practice? There are a number of plau- A
view—is an essential balance to the passion sible explanations, but the basic problem seems E
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that can be generated by a strong sense of pur- evident: the academy generally neglects the
pose. The research for Some Do Care (Colby development of students’ sense of personal and
and Damon 1992) showed an important quality social responsibility because many in higher
of open-mindedness in people who exemplify education see those learning outcomes as
extraordinary moral leadership. This critical alien to the cherished value of analytical
quality of intellectual and moral humility seems thinking. The misalignment between institu-
to be missing in fanatics. It is, therefore, espe- tional priorities and the Core Commitments
cially important that academic efforts to edu- goals is the unforeseen consequence of believ-
cate for civic or moral purpose teach students ing that the inculcation of analytic thinking
to test and balance their passion through gen- is, in itself, the central point and responsibility
uine openness to others’ points of view. of higher education.
If they are to succeed in life, students also Analytical thinking involves making sense
need to learn how to engage skillfully the hu- of particular events in terms of general concepts
man complexities of real situations, the varied and then manipulating those concepts accord-
perspectives, preferences, and claims that dif- ing to general rules or principles. Analytical
ferent people bring. The need to negotiate thinking involves framing the particularity of
these complexities is a big part of why knowl- actual experience in terms of categories at a
edge-in-action, or practical reason, is different higher level of abstraction. This “rigorous”
in basic form and process from the usual kind thinking is central to modern societies. It en-
of academic understanding. Interpersonal skill ables scientific explanation and theory-build-
is not sufficient for wise and responsible judg- ing as well as their powerful application in
ment-in-action, however. For that, it is also technological innovation.
essential to pay attention to the underlying Analytical thinking is necessary for ade-
dynamics of identity formation and the ex- quate functioning in most domains of modern
plicit cultivation of purpose. These issues are culture, and most entering students need con-
integrally connected, because engaging diverse siderable help to gain the essential intellectual
perspectives on issues that are important to skills it entails. These skills play an important
them leads students to rethink their identities, part in making democratic as well as academic
their moral values, and other unquestioned as- or intellectual life possible. Without clarity of
sumptions toward the achievement of a more thought and argument, without the ability to
mature and thoughtfully examined identity. think critically and reason logically, people
Finally, developing competence in ethical are captive to unexamined biases and unable
and moral reasoning such that it will perme- to evaluate the validity of others’ claims or
ate one’s life requires going beyond the purely their own intuitions.
cognitive aspects of morality to practical wis- Our quarrel, then, is not with analytical
dom; engaged judgment; ethical habits of thinking itself but instead with the tendency
mind, heart, and behavioral response; and a in the academy to treat analytical thinking as
sense of identity with integrity and purpose at a sufficient scholarly and scientific ideal and
its core. In order to accomplish this, students educational goal. When this happens, it creates
need to engage messy, complicated, ambigu- an academic culture that reveres analytical
ous realities and learn to identify and respond rigor as the only important consideration, dis-
to the ethical features of those realities. This connecting rigorous thinking from sources of
points to a different kind of educational expe- human meaning and value. This threatens to
rience than academic ethics courses typically create a culture of argument that is so critical,
WINTER 2009 LIBERAL EDUCATION 27
Despite these
skeptical, and detached that it challenges, we are agenda represents the nature
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I can become unmoored from optimistic about of disciplined inquiry well but
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the human purposes that ra- it cannot explain how to get
O the potential for
T tionality and rigor are meant students to care about disci-
higher education to
to serve. Analytical thinking plined inquiry and invest the
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E teaches students how to argue cultivate personal and work that is necessary to mas-
R all sides of an issue, but pursued social responsibility ter it. In order for that to hap-
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by itself, it often leaves them pen, inquiry needs to serve
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A with the sense that the ultimate choice of some kind of engagement with the world. It is
E where to come down is arbitrary. One result is through such engagement that it gains the en-
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that humanities disciplines, in particular, come ergy, spirit, and purpose that lead to curiosity
to be regarded by students as trading in mere and commitment.
“opinion” as opposed to rigorously demon- An appreciation of the insufficiency of the
strated “facts”—which appear to be the only critical-thinking agenda also clarifies the chal-
kind of knowledge worth having. lenges presented by the other Core Commit-
This is not a new problem. At the source of ments outcomes. It points to the importance of
Western rationality, Plato already was warn- grounding the consideration of multiple per-
ing about the nihilistic potential of acquiring spectives in real situations and purposes in order
skills of critical argument that are not well to offset the risk that engaging multiple per-
grounded by a moral compass. Plato has spectives will lead to a morass of relativism, as
Socrates humorously compare such un- the young hounds metaphor suggests. Likewise,
moored, fledgling dialecticians to young acknowledging the dominance of the critical-
hounds who discover that they can tear to bits thinking agenda also clarifies the fifth goal,
any argument, making the weaker and worse moral reasoning. Teaching for sophisticated
case seem like the stronger and better one. moral thinking is more widespread in the acad-
(Many academics, perhaps, can recognize in emy, and more easily achieved, than fostering a
this description more than a few young and morality that permeates life, precisely because
not-so-young hounds they have encountered.) moral reasoning is a variant of analytic think-
The development of analytical thinking is ing. But high-level analytic thinking about
an incomplete educational agenda in part be- morality is insufficient; it must be accompanied
cause it disconnects rationality from purpose, by the kind of habitual, embodied, pervasive
and academic understanding from practical morality that is the basis for a moral life.
understanding or judgment. In order to pre- Despite these challenges, we are optimistic
pare for decision and action in the world, stu- about the potential for higher education to
dents need to develop not only facility with cultivate personal and social responsibility.
concepts and critical analysis but also judg- Once recognized, the thinness of the way criti-
ment about real situations in all their particu- cal thinking is currently characterized for stu-
larity, ambiguity, uncertainty, and complexity. dents can be corrected. A better understanding
They need to develop practical reasoning. of the importance of identity formation, the
The university, however, has been organized development of purpose, and practical reason-
around a specialization of research that drives ing opens the possibility of institutionalizing a
discovery but has also overshadowed the edu- fuller agenda for liberal education, one that en-
cational mission of the liberal arts. As advanc- lists analytical reasoning toward the end of a
ing research has become more prominent as wider cultivation of humanity.
an institutional goal, it has fed back on the
educational environment. In largely unintended How to support the development of
but nevertheless destructive ways, the research identity, purpose, and practical reasoning
emphasis has reinforced the tendency among How, then, might we accomplish such a reori-
many academics to view the promotion of dis- entation of academic practice to better sup-
ciplined inquiry as the central or only educa- port the aims of liberal education? We suggest
tional agenda. three steps that educators can take immedi-
The first Core Commitments outcome, the ately. Realizing their full potential, however,
pursuit of excellence, points to a key problem will require effort, organization, patience, and
with the “critical-thinking agenda.” That the ability to learn from experiment.
28 LIBERAL EDUCATION WINTER 2009
First, pay attention to questions of mean- like as individuals, as professionals in their
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ing, purpose, and personal identity in the fields, and as citizens as well as to engage them I
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classroom. A recent study of student attitudes habitually in socially responsible behaviors
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in higher education by Alexander and Helen through providing opportunities, incentives, T
Astin (2004) shows (1) that the great major- and structures for that behavior.
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ity of students want faculty to raise questions If colleges could successfully expand beyond E
of purpose and meaning, (2) that by and large the critical-thinking agenda, we believe R
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their teachers do not raise these issues, but Americanhigher education would have a
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that (3) when they do, students feel they gain much better chance of achieving the five A
a great deal. In order to achieve the combina- goals of personal and social responsibility that E
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tion of open-mindedness and commitment AAC&Uhas articulated as Core Commitments.
that is essential to mature adulthood, it is im- But that is not all. Research on professional
portant that faculty model and provide expe- education and education for citizenship provides
rience with the interplay between analytical strong evidence that this kind of preparation
detachment and sensitivity to moral purpose would make all aspects of undergraduate
and meaning. learning more robust, memorable, and usable—
Second, incorporate throughout both the both in college and in the years beyond. An
curriculum and the cocurriculum high-quality agenda for undergraduate education that thor-
experiential learning, using active, hands-on, oughly integrates education for purpose, iden-
collaborative, inquiry-based pedagogies tity, and practical reasoning with the already
(AAC&U 2007). These pedagogies are com- strong education for analytic capacities will
monplace in some kinds of professional educa- better serve our students and also our culture;
tion, and also in education for civic and our civic, professional, and commercial
political engagement, though they are less institutions; and our democracy. ■■
widely used in typical liberal arts courses.
Through active, hands-on learning and reflec- To respond to this article, e-mail [email protected],
tion on their experiences, students are able to with the authors’ names on the subject line.
bring theory and classroom knowledge to-
gether with practice. In the process, academic
learning is challenged and refined by the REFERENCES
complexities of the practice arena, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
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WINTER 2009 LIBERAL EDUCATION 29