Contemporary Liberal Education Research Articles

The Enlightenment conceptions of pedagogy and global citizenship education: A Canadian case study

Contemporary liberal education owes its existence to various educational ideas and pedagogical formulas that emerged from the 18th century intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment. Many Enlightenment conceptions, principles, and practices such as public schooling, equality of opportunity, freedom of expression, critical thinking, scientific methodology, empiricism, and rationality constitute the backbone of current liberal education. Despite this, in recent years, most of these Enlightenment legacies have come into sharp contrast with neoliberalization policies and practices that are plaguing the contemporary educational domains, in general, and the field of higher education, in particular. To what extent are the current institutions of higher learning able to cope with the onslaught of neoliberalization policies and practices? This article explores this question by juxtaposing relevant educational and pedagogical conceptions of the Enlightenment against some of the contemporary challenges and struggles in the field of education.

The Paradox of “Practical Liberal Arts”. Lessons from the Wagner College Case for Liberal (Arts) Education in Eastern Europe

The article presents the case study of Wagner College curriculum as an example of paradoxical transformation within contemporary liberal education. The Wagner Plan for Practical Liberal Arts is an important example of overcoming the traditional liberal/vocational distinction in higher education, that has been increasingly challenged by both the economic condition of colleges and wider changes in skills required by the workforce of developed countries. The Wagner College case is not widely acknowledged, yet it may be important for European liberal education institutions. Even though they are mostly public colleges/programs, they operate in a context that has become increasingly similar to that which Wagner College was facing in the early 1990s. Calls for more liberal education go against governmental expectations, study choices and disciplinary traditions of institutions. Wagner buildson the triple assumption that learning is really practical, that higher education can have a practical impact on a local community and that broad interdisciplinary knowledge is even more useful preparation for a future career. Such claims, even though controversial, fit well with the pragmatic consensus in American “pragmatic consensus” that strengthened around liberal arts in last three decades. For Eastern European liberal education, which is a growing field, Wagner provides an interesting example of holistic educational vision that was implemented with relatively limited resources. Apart from administrators, this study may also be of interest to teachers and students who consider the traditional academic setting due to be revamped, even in liberal education programs. Any strategy of development of liberal education in Eastern Europe require scaling up and making it more relevant for major stakeholders (as happened in the Netherlands and is now taking place in the UK), as well as overcoming the neoliberal pressures and academic reluctance. The Wagner case example may spark much needed discussionon how to accomplish it without losing our soul. Eastern Europe, civic engagement, liberal education, liberal arts education, pragmatism, higher education, practical liberal arts.

Contemporary liberal education: slowing down to discern

Purpose – This essay seeks to argue that contemporary liberal arts education can be viewed from the perspective of contemporary psychological understandings of human cognition combined with the classical pedagogy developed in the foundational concepts of Jesuit education. Through a description of the human cognitive system as discussed in the writing of Daniel Kahneman and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola, the concepts of “slow thinking” and “discernment” are offered as important models that can inform development of a liberal education in an information-saturated society. Design/methodology/approach – The essay presents an interpretation of the essentially “liberating” nature of liberal education in light of the psychological literature that demonstrates how one's culture contributes to the formation of cognitive structures that allow largely automatic processing of information in a non-reflective, fast process that leads to understanding that is constrained and somewhat closed to alternative understanding. This interpretation is then discussed in light of a process of discernment that allows the individual to open up to new ideas. Findings – The essay thus derives the conclusion that a focus on pedagogy of discernment is the essential feature of a modern liberal education and leads to creative expression of new ideas in new ways. Originality/value – The essay presents an alternative view of contemporary liberal education that is based on a well-developed historical approach (Ignatian discernment) and supported by current psychological research.

Signs of Change: New Directions in Theatre Education by Joan Lazarus, and: Artistic Literacy: Theatre Studies and a Contemporary Liberal Education by Nancy Kindelan (review)

Reviewed by: Signs of Change: New Directions in Theatre Educationby Joan Lazarus, and: Artistic Literacy: Theatre Studies and a Contemporary Liberal Educationby Nancy Kindelan Jeanne Klein Signs of Change: New Directions in Theatre Education. By Joan Lazarus. Revised and amplified edition. Chicago: Intellect Books, 2012; pp. 352. Artistic Literacy: Theatre Studies and a Contemporary Liberal Education. By Nancy Kindelan. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012; pp. 216. Theatre educators tend to be passionate, idealistic, and mission-driven lovers of theatre who strive to change our conflict-ridden and partisan-divided world, if only one student at a time. In their respective texts, Joan Lazarus and Nancy Kindelan encapsulate the passions of their lifelong careers in theatre education by calling upon us to take dramatic actions that may effect social change. In the midst of debates over educational reforms, both authors champion theatre as a means of fixing democracy by inducing socially responsible citizenship within local communities. In Signs of Change: New Directions in Theatre Education, Lazarus substantially amplifies an already mold-breaking 2004 text that appraises the very best practices for theatre by and with young people, grades K–12. Knowing full well that she cannot necessarily change “the whole world,” she seeks to change herself (and her readers) by questioning “what is, what could be, and what ought to be” for more progressive outcomes of theatre education that move beyond industrial-age paradigms of producing assembly-line plays irrelevant to students’ lives. Based on her extensive surveys, observations, and collaborations with more than 225 educators, she investigates alternative paradigms combining a consideration of the pioneering voices from the field with closer looks inside classrooms and rehearsal spaces on the emerging frontier of change. Rather than prescribe “how-to” lesson plans, Lazarus offers compelling exemplars of best practices from other change-seekers who care deeply about impacting students’ lives. Each cogently written chapter gives courage to both novice and master teachers by inviting us to reflect upon our current programs with multiple sets of provocatively worded questions, stimulating ideas for further reflection, and selected resources to inspire pedagogical changes. In chapter 1, Lazarus establishes what is “a pretty bleak view” of theatre education where, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, less than half of all secondary schools and a tiny minority of elementary schools mandate theatre as a subject. As high-stakes testing erodes arts instruction with escalating budget cuts, particularly in low-income schools, too few states offer teacher certifications in K–12 theatre, unlike the visual arts and music. Nevertheless, Lazarus offers hope in three subsequent chapters by synthesizing the interdependent characteristics of learner-centered, socially responsible, and comprehensive practices. With her steadfast focus on teaching studentsmore than teaching theatre per se, she valorizes learner-centered approaches in which students initiate and devise performative projects based on social conflicts of greatest concern to them and share artistic decision-making collaboratively with teacher-directors in more equitably balanced relationships. Learner-centered teachers facilitate students’ creative choices using Spolin’s organically derived techniques, Heathcote’s [End Page 223]“mantle of the expert,” and other applied theatre methods that place theatrical forms in service to the connected content of students’ lived experiences. Lazarus argues quite rightly that the extra labor-intensive time spent on rehearsals in learner-centered productions requires “a differentuse of time, but ultimately not more time” than traditional “read, stage, and run” models because self-directed students practice their delegated responsibilities efficiently during otherwise frantic technical weeks (87; emphasis in original). To explain socially responsible practices, Lazarus addresses the conditions of students’ increasingly diverse identities regarding poverty, disabilities, race, culture, languages, gender, sexuality, and spirituality. Most importantly, she considers how largely ignored ageism intersects with adults’ protective norms and offers helpful guidelines for choosing and facilitating age-appropriate materials. Building a caring, empathetic, and respectful community also depends on teachers avoiding burnout by taking care of themselves as another best practice, even as they strive to implement a comprehensive theatre education. Such a curriculum engages students in weaving eight practitioner roles (that is, researcher, playwright, director, designer, technician, actor, audience, and critic) with four methods of discipline-based inquiry (production, history, aesthetics, and...

Artistic literacy: theatre studies and a contemporary liberal education

Artistic literacy: theatre studies and a contemporary liberal education

Communal Training of the Solitary Individual: A Nietzschean Puzzle Concerning Liberal Education

When contemplating the state of contemporary liberal education, one rarely thinks to turn to Nietzsche for insight. This neglect is not necessarily a case of academic irresponsibility; rather, often it is due to one’s hope to maintain sanity: Nietzsche’s writings are full of switchbacks and contradictions. Some of his texts are lucid, others murky at best with the echoes of the author’s laughter at the reader’s frustrating (and often losing) battle wrestling aphorisms and verse. Additionally, the misappropriation of Nietzsche’s work to support the agendas of Nazis and misogynists leaves many skittish at the thought of approaching it at all. Yet, within his various writings, education and the possibility of human greatness and autonomy is of utmost importance, as he regards individuals who actualize such greatness — exemplary creative geniuses — as ultimate ends providing value and meaning to the whole of culture (for example: SE 1, et passim; FEI; GM II, 2; EH, The Untimely Ones).

Teaching Buddhism in the Postmodern University: Understanding, Critique, Evaluation

A contemporary liberal education in the humanities and social sciences should introduce students to the serious exploration of various kinds of worlds that human beings articulate and within which they live. Teachers in Buddhist studies can make a significant contribution by offering courses that focus attention on distinctively Buddhist worlds that are directly relevant to postmodern interests and concerns. These courses should also be designed to empower students with the kind of interpretive skills that are needed in a postmodern environment to generate viable modes of sympathetic understanding, convincing forms of critical analysis, and the capacity to formulate and defend responsible personal and social judgments. This article is a revised version of the keynote lecture given at a McGill University conference on “Teaching Buddhism: The State of the Art,” October 8–10, 1999.

Newman, Theology and the Crisis of Liberal Education

In his classic, The Idea of a University, John Henry Cardinal Newman advanced three arguments for the inclusion of theology in the liberal arts curriculum. These include the very nature of a university in its profession to teach all subjects, the interdisciplinary value of theology, and the danger of academic quackery and usurpation, when a subject matter is not given its due place in the curriculum. The arguments for theology are intimately connected to Newman's high ideal of education, rightly celebrated by educators today. The crisis in contemporary liberal education is reflected in a dispute between Edward O. Wilson and Richard Rorty over the concept of "consilience." Yet there are promising signs of a renewal of liberal education through a deeper appreciation of theology in the course of studies in higher education.