In this article we discuss the past, present, and future of the cultural activity approach as a methodology for integrating the humanities and natural sciences as well as psychotechnical and theoretical knowledge. It is suggested that the meaning of historical crisis of cultural activity-psychology consists in reflecting on the future prospects of…

In February of 1967, newly elected Governor Ronald Reagan delivered a speech about California's austere budget in which he chided the "intellectual luxury" of higher education as something that could lead to "economic ruin" if unchecked. "Taxpayers shouldn't be subsidizing intellectual curiosity," Gov. Reagan decreed.…

Self-regulation is of interest both to psychologists and to teachers. But what the word means is unclear. To define it precisely, two studies examined the American Psychological Association's system of controlled vocabulary--specifically, the 447 associated terms it presents--and used techniques from the Digital Humanities to identify 88 closely…

American higher education has always articulated a civic mission as part of its purpose: colleges and universities educate students for life in a democratic society and provide that society with citizens who ensure that it thrives in turn. This essay maps the development of a national infrastructure for civic learning and engagement in American…

Using poetry, role play, readers' theatre, and creative manipulations of space through yarn and paper weaving, a workshop in 2008 challenged one of educational development's more pervasive and least questioned notions ("constructive alignment" associated most often with the work of John Biggs). This paper describes the reasoning behind…

In 1965, President Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act, giving birth to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. The act declared, "Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens. It must therefore foster and support a form of education, and access to the arts…

This paper asks the question: do people with different levels of research productivity and identification as a researcher think of research differently? It discusses a study that differentiated levels of research productivity among English and Australian academics working in research-intensive environments in three broad discipline areas: science,…

This article explores the experiences of a humanities graduate after leaving the academy. The author considers her own education in light of the historical changes in South Africa's education system. The article is a personal account of the questions and challenges encountered in choosing a humanities degree in a context where a tertiary education…

In this article we offer a single case study using an action research method for gathering and analysing data offering insights valuable to both design and research supervision practice. We do not attempt to generalise from this single case, but offer it as an instance that can improve our understanding of research supervision practice. We…

The purpose of this study was to develop a model to help engineering faculty overcome the challenges they face when asked to design and implement interdisciplinary curricula. Researchers at a U.S. University worked with an Interdisciplinary Consultant Team and prepared a steering document with Guiding Principles and Essential Elements for the…

Community colleges enroll nearly half of the total U.S. undergraduates, have the most diverse student population, and serve as the only contact with postsecondary education for many students. Community colleges have engaged in internationalization efforts for decades. Most rely on study abroad and international students as the only methods to…

The "President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities 2009-2016: A Legacy of Action" highlights the results of the synergy of collaboration the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) forged with the private sector and each of the cultural agencies--National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the…

This study measures moral disengagement of undergraduate business and humanities students with a focus on differences in moral disengagement between genders. Students completed a survey that consisted of 32 statements and were asked to determine the degree to which they agreed with each, using a 7-point Likert scale. The questions measured moral…

Given the widespread tendency to direct budget cuts in higher education toward areas perceived as less essential to economic productivity, there is not a single college or university humanities program in the United States that would not benefit from philanthropy. However, because some moneyed interests use the current crisis as a pretext to…

Research on authentic learning has been predominantly focussed on skills-based training: there is a paucity of research on models of authentic learning available for adaptation in the humanities undergraduate classroom. In this article, I will seek to address this gap by proposing that legal trials are ideal models for designing authentic learning…