The 39 preservice teachers (PSTs) who participated in this study were enrolled in a masters program for secondary science teacher certification. Initially they held broad ideas about teaching and learning gleaned from their own experiences. Guided by the program course work, some PSTs embraced the pedagogical approaches introduced in the program,…

In this study, student liberalism is examined longitudinally to determine whether it changes as the result of being exposed to different educational environments. The effect of college on liberalism and the relative efficacy of different measures of the college environment are also addressed. The main focus is on the effect of student peers. Data…

Earlier work on the enduring effects of education is reviewed, and data are presented from 22 autobiographical accounts written by college graduates. Most importance was attached to learning high-level intellectual skills and to attitudes and values of personal and professional significance. Implications for curricula and teaching are discussed.…

A liberal education (in which the student is exposed to a variety of different religions, political systems, economic systems, cultures, types of art work, and types of music) helps the student develop an appreciation of all these entities. In college, students are drawn from different states and school districts, and even different parts of the…

The inability of university professors to communicate about shared concepts and concerns--e.g., meaning, self, integrity, an ideal of truth--is related to the fragmented university, departmentalized and bureaucratized. The impact of this on the humanity of those involved is sketched, and suppositions are advanced about the nature of education.…

Summary findings are presented on research about the impact of college in order to identify key issues related to understanding the lives of individual students. Five perspectives are offered: Bowen's outcomes and goals; Feldman and Newcomb's student personality, values, and beliefs; Pace's achievement testing; Astin's longitudinal studies; and…

Intellectualism and impersonalism are seen as making many academic activities miseducative. It is advocated that academics organize curricular and extracurricular activities to direct students toward an understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. [This issue commemorates JHE's 50th year. Reprints of notable articles (HE 511…

A survey of engineering students (436 responses) who participated in either an academic research or a cooperative work program found that both programs strongly influenced participants' skills, job values, and life objectives. Cooperative employment influenced students' skills and career decisions, and research experience influenced values and…

Many studies in higher education have focused on the development of late adolescent and adult personality change on the assumption that such change was brought about by the college experience. The focus of this study is on the value changes that occur during college years and the changes that endure beyond college. Group and individual values…

The applicability of socialization theory for understanding the processes of college impacts on students is discussed. The focus is affective dimensions of college impact, particularly influences of college on student's values, personal goals, and aspirations. Conceptual dimensions of the socialization process are considered, with attention to…

A study investigated the impact of sex education on current high school students and high school alumni. Studied were the views of current students and alumni, about the achievement of 33 program outcomes, at two high schools (one in the East and the other in the Midwest) identified as having exemplary sex education programs. The Sex Education…

The benefits and broad perspectives that can result from higher education and the tension that exists between vocational and liberal education are addressed. It is suggested that this tension is powerfully related both to the content and the quality of higher education. The importance of introducing students to those themes of life that are…

Experiences of Eastern New Mexico University in conducting a student outcomes study are described. After tracing the background of the study, the following outcome dimensions are described: knowledge outcomes, skills outcomes, attitudes and values, student relationship with the university, and occupational outcomes. The university's Student…

A longitudinal study investigated developmental changes in moral and ethical decision-making among college students at three Christian, evangelical, liberal arts colleges. The three colleges had an "ethics across the curriculum" emphasis in place during the period of the study. The study began in 1987 with 99 freshmen from a total incoming class…

Ways to define the outcomes of college experiences are discussed, along with the use of assessment information to improve curricula, instruction, and management. The analysis is based on the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems/Kellogg Student Outcomes Project. It is proposed that institutions achieve educational excellence by…