This study explores the perception of critical thinking (CT) among students in undergraduate humanities programs. It uncovers a strong alignment between the learning objectives of CT within the curriculum and students' perceptions. Students not only recognize CT but also underscore its importance, affirming their perceived improvement in critical…

Today there is a downward trend in the credibility of the humanities in university education including philosophy, it is evidenced by the reduction of popularity and the number of teaching hours. Nevertheless, according to students and professors, philosophy is an interesting and necessary discipline for specialists of various knowledge areas. The…

This article re-states the importance of the arts and humanities for education, highlights the declining provision for them in schools, and argues that a fundamental re-think of the purposes of education is required to re-establish creativity at the heart of formal learning.

In this article, the author shares how she designs fun and fascinating western humanities courses at a community college in Minnesota. Using the example provided by many excellent past instructors, and through numerous late-night research sessions, she began to develop techniques and exercises that would help her achieve her goals in the…

Background: It has been claimed that thematic or integrated approaches to curriculum delivery offer a range of advantages over subject-based modes of delivery including improved pupil motivation. Purpose: This study put claims regarding pupil motivation to the test, using the achievement goals framework. This contemporary approach to understanding…

This article stages a dialogue between cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism in order to think through what is at stake in demands that universities should produce graduates who are sensitive to social diversity and attuned to the contemporary realities of globalization. The argument is that, although "graduate attributes" are no doubt an effective…

The University of Chicago met widespread national opposition ten years ago after it instituted a new, less demanding core curriculum to make way for more electives. It was part of a plan to make the curriculum significantly less demanding in order to attract more students and improve the school's bottom line in a time of putative budget deficits.…

The third aim of education is the development of civilized persons. (MM)

A series of reports reflecting the activities of the Community College Humanities Association (CCHA) are presented in these proceedings. The first article, "Teaching Professional Ethics: Proceed, But with Caution," by Richard A. Wright, argues that extreme care must be taken in developing and teaching professional ethics, discussing what…

Claims Alan Bloom's "Closing of the American Mind" and E.D. Hirsch's "Cultural Literacy" lead readers to believe that young Americans are extraordinarily stupid and that in their ignorance we can read the decline and fall of the American way of life. Presents support which resists rather than foments such panic. (NH)

Author clarified the meaning of humanities and specified its place in the educational curriculum. He also listed programs funded by the government as well as an account of how those funds are used. (RK)

Starting with the principle that learning goes on only when the learner is engaged in the process with mind, will, and feelings, the author argues that humanistic study must be integrated with existential questions of personal and social development. (Editor/PG)

The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of strong humanities programs/courses in selected Texas public junior colleges. Preliminary questionnaires, personnel interviews, and inspection of curricular materials served as the three primary methods used to obtain data. Preliminary questionnaires were mailed to faculty of the…

Examined is the Humanities Program at St. Anselm College, a two-year program of readings and lectures ordered chronologically from ancient to contemporary times--from the age of Classical Greek thought and the Old Testament to the twentieth century. The first year of the Humanities Program is organized in eight units on general modes of…