Developing Skills for Living in a Diverse and Democratic Society: The Role of Liberal Arts Education

• In Event: The Value of College Coursework

Abstract

Rhetorical arguments crediting liberal arts education (LAE) with preparing students for life, work, and citizenship are plentiful. A LAE, many claim, helps students develop skills for navigating a diverse and democratic society. We test this claim empirically by assessing the association between undergraduates’ exposure to LAE and their long-term pluralistic orientation, openness to diversity, and democratic engagement. While prior work narrowly conceptualizes LAE as occurring only at liberal arts institutions or when majoring in liberal arts subjects, we use three core features of a contemporary LAE identified by the American Association of Colleges & Universities to determine exposure to a LAE among students at various types of institutions and majors. Specifically, we directly measure students’ course-taking breadth, course-taking depth, and exposure to integrative learning. By providing evidence on the association between students’ college coursework and their long-term orientation towards inclusivity and commitment to the public good, this study examines the social benefits of LAE at a time when voices questioning its benefits are loud. 

Our analysis is based on merged administrative student, transcript, and survey data on 2,800 graduates from seven diverse public four-year postsecondary systems, collected as part of the College and Beyond II study. The data includes students’ admissions information, demographics, major, and course-taking records. Rich survey data on outcomes was collected for graduates from the class of 2010 approximately 11 years later, permitting us to measure outcomes well into adulthood. Our main outcome measures are pluralistic orientation (individuals’ ability and preference for living in a diverse society), openness to diversity and challenge (the value individuals place on engaging with diverse cultures, viewpoints, and experiences) and political and civic participation. We measure students’ course-taking breadth as the number of courses they take in distinct subjects in the arts and sciences, course-taking depth as the number of upper-division major courses they take, and exposure to integrative learning as the number of interdisciplinary courses they take. 

 Our results do not provide strong support for advocates’ claims about LAE’s ability to educate for democracy, as we find that curricular components of liberal arts education have mixed relationships to democratic outcomes. Breadth is positively (but weakly) related to democratic outcomes, depth is negatively (but weakly) related to democratic outcomes, and integrative learning is largely unrelated to democratic outcomes. Using a blocked regression approach, we find that the relationships between students’ exposure to LAE and democratic outcomes are almost fully explained by their field of study. Individuals who major in professional fields experience less breadth and more depth than those in the arts and sciences. And as with previous research, we find that individuals who major in professional fields have lower levels of democratic outcomes. Thus, once we account for students’ field of study, no relationship remains between students’ exposure to a LAE and their democratic outcomes. Based on these findings, we conclude that simply increasing students’ exposure to curricular components of LAE will not be an effective and immediate solution to the current democratic crisis in the U.S.

Author

• Kevin Stange, University of Michigan
  Presenting Author