Assessing the prospects for liberal learning and careers

Abstract

Despite the resurgence of the liberal arts, an undergraduate curriculum still requires a synthesis of liberal and practical learning.

Table of Contents

“…Through the last three decades, the tension between liberal arts and vocationally oriented education has changed form. Rather than the previous either/or approach, many supporters of postsecondary education have called for a uniting synthesis of both a liberal arts education with a vocational focus and a vocationally oriented curriculum grounded in liberal learning (Chickering, 1982;Durden, 2003;Gorelick, 1982;Green and Salem, 1988;Schwerin, 1983;Stark, 1987). Although it is unclear how this synthesizing approach may substantively differ from general education, it appears to move the previous tension into a direction of mutual reinforcement, a potential boon for both liberal arts and vocationally oriented education.…”