Values based verses liberal arts education

tk21769
Wed, 28 Nov 2012 05:07:43 +0000

The “liberal arts” are taught in the undergraduate programs of virtually every comprehensive research university in the country, as well as at liberal arts colleges. They are taught at colleges with Core Curriculum programs; they are taught at colleges with Open Curriculum programs. They are not exclusive to any of the Carnegie college classification types.

The modern liberal arts evolved out of the medieval “Trivium” (grammar, rhetoric, logic) and “Quadrivium” (arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy). The Trivium and Quadrivum in turn evolved from subjects taught to free citizens in ancient Rome and Greece. These subjects distinguished free citizens from slaves, who learned only technical skills. Likewise, the modern liberal arts (literature, history, philosophy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, etc.) are not technical or pre-professional subjects (like engineering, nursing, or business).

Religion or “values education” may or may not be considered an essential part of undergraduate education. Some of the Latin mottos of liberal arts colleges and universities do have strong religious overtones (or even direct reference to scriptures). The American Association of Colleges & Universities describes its mission follows:

[quote]
From its founding in 1915, AAC&U has focused on advancing and strengthening liberal education for all college students, regardless of their intended careers. While the term is used in multiple ways, AAC&U sees liberal education as a philosophy of education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge and transferable skills, and a strong sense of value, ethics, and civic engagement./quote

In my opinion, the aims of liberal education are distinct from the aims of religious or “values” education. The liberal arts might examine religion, but liberal education per se does not necessarily strive to instill a particular set of religious beliefs, although the liberal arts may be incorporated into a program of religious or moral education (whose advocates may label it as “values-based” education, Christian education, or something else ).