Liberal Arts Education: Changes, Challenges, and Choices

Abstract

Despite the rising demand for vocational and practical education, the values of liberal arts education are still highly regarded, and many higher education institutions have been integrating liberal arts education as an approach to the development of a well-rounded education, flexible and creative thinking, civic engagement, and internationalization. For instance, several of the oldest, private liberal arts colleges in the USA continue to thrive and attract first-class students (Chopp R, Frost S, Weiss D (2013) Remaking college: innovation and the liberal larts. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore). East Asian universities, particularly those in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China, show an increasing interest in liberal arts education, and small, independent dedicated liberal arts colleges and general education programs have been developed in these countries (Jiang YG (2014) Liberal arts education in a changing society: A new perspective on Chinese higher education. BRILL, Leiden; Jung IS, Nishimura M, Sasao T (2016) Liberal arts education and colleges in East Asia: Possibilities and challenges in the global age. Springer, Singapore).