The Goals of Higher Education (The William J. Cooper Foundation Lectures at Swarthmore College)

In the challenging circumstances of today, many colleges are reevaluating their academic aims. Designed to help particular colleges evaluate their programs, The Goals of Higher Education presents the views of major thinkers, in a practical rather than a purely speculative context.The editor’s Introduction places six individual essays in the context of contemporary educational policy. The first two, by Harold Taylor and Jacob Klein, are concerned with the goals of educators. Two succeeding essays, by Richard Sullivan and Gordon Allport, are devoted to analyses of student needs and motivations. Brand Blanshard discusses the importance of value concepts in structuring education; and, in the final essay, Arthur Morgan develops the thesis that our colleges should encourage the acceptance of community responsibility among their students. Contents Introduction Individualism and the Liberal Tradition The idea of Liberal Education Who should go to college? Uniqueness in students Values: the Polestar of Education Developing community responsibility Index