Liberal Education Course Research Articles

Effects of Liberal Education on Students' Personality, Critical Thinking, and Leadership Skills: A Conceptual Study

The concept of liberal education emerged in the 19th century when scholars in Europe and the United States recognized that the academic departments of modern universities were overly specialized, leading to a fragmented understanding of knowledge. China is home to several esteemed national universities that offer liberal arts programmes, including Peking University (established in 2007), Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou (established in 2009), and Fudan College at Fudan University in Shanghai (opened in 2012). As the popularity of liberal education continues to grow on a global scale, an increasing number of educational institutions are offering specialised liberal education courses. However, students do not perform as well as they could. The objectives of this research project are the critical thinking, personality and leadership factors and their influence on student performance in liberal education courses.

Rethinking the Criteria for Liberal Education Courses

Sheldon Rothblatt argues that the subject does not define liberal education but rather that anything taught liberally constitutes liberal education. We partially agree with Rothblatt's assertion. In short, while we concur with his claim that not all traditional liberal arts automatically constitute liberal education, we believe that for liberal education to be taught and learned liberally, the curriculum should be centered around the traditional liberal arts. This argument unfolds in three distinct phases, each contributing to a deeper understanding of liberal education. The first phase delves into the elements that define liberal education, drawing on Rothblatt's assertion and the case of Harvard's general education. This analysis presents civic engagement and adaptability as crucial yet often overlooked components of liberal education. In the second phase, we introduce the concepts of ‘fundamentality’ and ‘openness’ as pivotal to liberal teaching within liberal education. ‘Fundamentality’ refers to the ability to question fundamental principles, laws, and assumptions openly. To satisfy these elements, we argue that disciplines from the traditional liberal arts are indispensable in liberal education. The final phase will demonstrate the need for ‘fundamentality’ and ‘openness’ through the example of logical education. We will illustrate issues that arise from using inference rules of classical logic without precisely understanding their meaning and show that overcoming these problems requires openness to questioning. This will show why the liberal education curriculum should be structured around traditional liberal arts disciplines.

Exploring the relationship between computational thinking and learning satisfaction for non-STEM college students

While various studies have focused on the significance of computational thinking (CT) for the future career paths of individuals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), few studies have focused on computational thinking for non-STEM college students. This study explores the relationship between computational thinking and learning satisfaction for non-STEM-major college students. A conceptual model is proposed to examine the structural relationships among computational thinking, self-efficacy, self-exploration, enjoyment and learning satisfaction in an AppInventor-based liberal education course. Collecting data from 190 undergraduate students from Taiwan and analyzing the data by using partial least squares (PLS) methods, the research framework confirms the six proposed hypotheses. These results show that both computational thinking and enjoyment play significant roles in both self-exploration and digital self-efficacy. Moreover, digital self-efficacy and self-exploration also have a significant positive influence on learning satisfaction. These findings have implications for influencing the learning outcomes of non-STEM-major college students, computational thinking course instructors, and computational thinking relevant policies.

지형분야 대학 교양과목의 개발 사례와 전망 - '한국지형여행' 과목을 사례로 -

As part of an effort to popularize geomorphology, a course called “Traveling Lanforms in Korea” was developed and opened at Chungbuk National University in 2021. The lecture materials are posted on the online Liberal Education courses of Chungbuk National University; provided as a Lifelong Education content through K-MOOC; and provided to nine national universities through the Base National University Credit Exchange System. The contents of the lecture focus on the geography of the middle and high school curriculum, including mountain landforms, plateaus, granite topography development, mountain rivers, coastal erosional and depositional forms, volcanic landforms, and karst topography. Some portions of this lecture, representing important landforms of Korea, were filmed. In the future, it will be possible to develop and proceed with additional lectures that include geomorphological topics, which are not currently included in this lecture, such as rivers at plain, alluvial fan, arid landforms, glacial landforms, and periglacial landforms. In addition, it seems that new subjects such as landforms of geopark in Korea, are necessary as well. Also, in relation to the high school credit system, it is thought that physical geography and geomorphology-related lectures should be developed in the near future.

Humanities-Based Educational Preparation and Empathy in Novice Nurses: Critical Thinking and Analytic Practice.

Empathy has been associated with improved patient outcomes in practicing nurses, but empathy levels have been shown to decline in nursing students with increased clinical exposure. Integrating content from the humanities in the nursing classroom, not common in nursing education, supports professional empathy development and maintenance. Whether competencies gained from humanities-based liberal education courses support empathy in nursing students as they emerge into practice is not known. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, descriptive, pilot research was to explore the relationship between humanities-based liberal education and empathy in recently graduated, baccalaureate-prepared practicing nurses ( n = 40).

Study on liberal arts education using propensity score matching with concentration on the D university liberal education course categories

지금까지 교양교육 연구에서 교양교육에 대한 수요조사 성격의 연구는 활발히 이루어지지 않았다. 필자들은 D 대학교에서 현재 운영 중인 상이한 유형의(기본교양 대 브릿지교양, 지식습득형 수업 대 지식탐구형 수업) 교양과목 수강생 325명을 대상으로 향후 개설을 준비 중인 ‘포스트휴먼의 이해’ 라는 교양강좌에 대한 수요조사를 실시하였다. 본 연구는 수요조사로부터 얻어진 데이터를 사용하여 신규로 개설될 교양과목의 필요성을 인식하는 정도와 개설되었을 때 수강할 의향이 자신이 속한 교양과목 유형에 따라 다른지 분석하였다. 한편 관찰연구에서 인과적 추론의 타당성이 현저히 감소되는 단점을 보완하고자 준실험적 연구 방법의 일종인 성향점수매칭 기법을 사용하였고, 이러한 선택편의를 보정한 상태에서 실험군과 대조군의 차이를 비교하였다. 분석 결과는 다음과 같다. 1) 기본교양 보다는 브릿지교양 수강생이, 지식습득형보다는 지식탐구형 강좌 수강생이 대체로 신규 개설 교과목에 대한 수요가 컸으며 개설시 수강의향도 높았다. 특히 수강의향 비율의 차이는 통계적으로 유의하였다. 2) 네 가지 조건 하의 분석 결과는 매칭 전후 두 집단 비교에서 다른 양상을 나타내었다. 학습유형에 의한 비교(지식습득형 대 지식탐구형)에서는, 매칭 이후에 두 집단의 차이가 감소했으나, 이수구분에 의한 비교(기본교양 대 브릿지교양)에서는 매칭 이후에 두 집단의 차이가 더 증가했다. 본 연구는 기존에 시도되지 않았던 접근법을 택함으로써, 교양교육연구의 다양성과 참신성에 기여할 수 있을 것이다.Thus far, there has been little to no focus on demand for future liberal arts courses in general education study. The authors administered a questionnaire to 325 college students in the D university that includes items asking their demand for a new course (‘Understanding post-human’) and willingness to register for the course when offered. This study examined whether those differ across students from different categories of general education courses(knowledge-acquisition type vs. knowledge-inquiry type and basic liberal arts courses vs. bridge liberal arts courses. In order to tackle the infeasibility of causal inference in most of the observational studies, this study employed propensity score matching method which is one of the quasi-experimental designs. Hence, this study was able to compare two sets of experimental and control groups in a more valid fashion. The findings of data analysis are the following: 1) On average, the demand for the new course and the willingness to register for the course were greater in students who took knowledge-inquiry type and bridge liberal arts courses than their counterparts. Specifically, the difference in the willingness to register for the course was statistically significant. 2) There were mixed patterns of findings: in comparison of knowledge-acquisition type vs. knowledge-inquiry type, the group difference after matching became smaller whereas that in comparison of basic liberal arts courses vs. bridge liberal arts courses became larger. By taking an approach and introducing a methodology that have been rarely addressed, this study hopes to contribute the literature of general education research in terms of diversity and novelty.

Addressing refugees and non-refugees in adult education programs

The paper analyses mainly non-vocational courses offered by a sample of 47 out of the approximately 900 public adult education centres (Volkshochschule - VHS) in Germany. The focus is on courses, events or other learning forms dealing with refugees in Germany from 1947 to 2015. Refugees can be taught in all-refugee or in mixed-groups, but it can also mean that flight and refuge is an educational issue for non-refugees. The method of program analysis is used. The results demonstrate changes over time. German adult education centres have partly turned into language schools for refugees and migrants. Civic or liberal education courses have lost importance. Refugees and migrants are addressed more than in the past when mainly non-refugees were informed about the reasons why people become refugees. Finally, ideas for courses are put forward. They are related to past practices and other studies.

Decide and Recycle—Service Learning in Liberal Education Course

Decide and Recycle—Service Learning in Liberal Education Course

Liberal Education as Part of the Hospitality Management Curriculum: Student and Alumni Perspectives

This article reports on a study to assess student and alumni perceptions about the liberal education component of the hospitality management curriculum. Findings suggest that hospitality management students and alumni like hospitality-specific courses significantly more than liberal education courses. Students and alumni are also more appreciative of the impact of hospitality-specific courses on their personal and professional development. Freshmen and sophomore students appreciated liberal education courses significantly more than junior and senior students and alumni were more appreciative of both types of courses than students. Implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Shifting the Teacher-Learner Paradigm: Teaching for the 21st Century

Designing and teaching a post-secondary elective Liberal Education course in “Puzzles and Problems” prompts a veteran mathematics professor to re-examine the roles of student and instructor in a university classroom. As students became authentically engaged in collaborative and cooperative development of problem-solving skills, and the classroom environment shifted from teacher-centric to learner-centric, the role of the “teacher” changed radically to a new teacher-learner paradigm, reflecting the emerging 21st century learning environment as it affects both teachers and students.

How to Improve the Textbook of University Speech Educationas a liberal education course

How to Improve the Textbook of University Speech Educationas a liberal education course

"Holding High the Standard": The Influence of the American Education Society in Ante-Bellum Education

FOR THE SELF-PRESERVATION of the nation, Eliphalet Pearson warned in 1815, immediate and universal effort must be made to provide religious Pearson, a former professor at Harvard College and president of the board of trustees of Phillips Academy and Andover Seminary, was preaching at the organizational meeting of the American Society for the Education of Pious Youth for the Gospel Ministry. To Pearson, America seemed to be plagued by a common degeneracy in religion and morals with hundreds of thousands bereft of religious instruction. Religion and were to be the means of salvation for both the individual and the nation. Pearson exhorted, Schools are to be multiplied, Bibles distributed; and, above all, thousands of pious young men must be educated for the ministry; and this speedily. Thus, the American Education Society (AES) was formed in Boston as part of a Protestant crusade to save the nation.' The of ministers and revitalization of religion were the primary concerns of the American Education Society, not per se. The Society believed was an instrument to be used for religious purposes and not an end in itself. But religion and are closely related and often were inextricably intertwined in this period. As a result of its role as an society, the AES had an important impact on American which extended beyond ministerial in any narrow sense. The broader influence of the American Education Society went beyond its manifest function of providing financial support to men studying for the ministry. In the process of aiding thousands of students, this educational foundation helped ensure the success of the academies, colleges, and seminaries they attended. By its commitment to a thorough and liberal course of education for the ministry, the AES exerted its leadership and influence to raise and uphold educational standards, support the classical curriculum, and shape theological in the second quarter of the

Is There Room for Liberal-Education Courses in the Geology Curriculum ?

The increase in the subject matter of geology in recent years and the need to add more courses to cover these fields have crowded the geology curriculum to the extent that many of the liberal-education courses formerly included are now omitted. Assuming that a liberal education is desirable for a well-rounded geologist, the colleges are faced with the possibility of: (1) lengthening the period of study from 4 years to 5 years, or even more, in order to include such courses, (2) leaving out some of the geology courses to make room for liberal-education courses, (3) setting up entrance requirements which would insure that much of the liberal education will be taken in high school, or (4)) some combination of the above proposals. The emphasis today on graduate work in geology is largely an application of (1). Unfortunately, in many cases the geology content is increased without any increase in liberal-education content. The problem seems to narrow itself down to a consideration of “how much” geology is neede...

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education

On the combination of a practical with a liberal course of education