Scholarship Reconsidered: A Functional Core for Graduate Curricula

Abstract

Higher education is involved in self-examination relative to its effectiveness in contemporary society. Criticisms from stakeholders—citizens, legislators, governing boards, students and alumni—feed the dialogue about the relevance of the role and mission of higher education in an era of accountability and decreasing resources. As Lynton and Elman (1987) indicated, new priorities must be established because “the nature and importance of knowledge in modern society are changing both quantitatively and qualitatively” (p. 1). Knowledge must be synthesized to be useful. This is as true for the student in the classroom as it is for state and federal legislators, the commissioners in communities, or citizens. While relationships to students and professional societies may have been priority audiences for faculty, the issues present in contemporary society make it essential that faculty in higher education facilitate the use of science and the knowledge base for decision-making in all aspects of society. Priorities for faculty must include responsibility for synthesis of the knowledge base as a means of creating better policy and improving programs. Several factors in higher education that have precluded effective use of the knowledge base in solving societal problems are described below. This is particularly true for problems in human services.