Importance of liberal education...

To succeed in the global workplace, a broad body of knowledge and a transferable set of skills are necessary. Only an integrated and interdisciplinary approach equips an undergraduate with the ability to understand and address a larger context of issues during his/her career.

In today’s competitive market, with little or no training in social sciences or no exposure to the pillars of liberal education, undergraduate education is not complete. Nor is a graduate fully equipped to lead a fulfilling life in a globalised society. There must be a liberal education culture in academic settings to allow a merging of science, technology, history, arts and humanities.

This type of education allows a much-needed change in the fundamentals of how students learn and how they are taught. Liberal education transforms a student from a pupil to a citizen of the world, able to understand, live and operate in different sociopolitical climates and cultures, adapting to an increasingly integrated world.

Thinking continuously, critically, creatively …

There is a consensus in academia about basic competencies that a college graduate must have. These include specific capacities such as communication skills (i.e. writing, speaking), mathematical and computer literacy, knowledge in the student’s major discipline and general ones, such as problem-solving skills, critical thinking, appreciation of cultural diversity and the ability to adapt to innovation and change (Robert M. Diamond, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug 1, 1997).

In Pakistan, however, the common belief is the more technical you are in your specialisation, the better the chances of improving your income by gaining a lifetime employment with all the benefits that come from a stable job. The truth is very different.

Rapid changes taking place in the workplace require flexible, transferable skills and the ability to be adaptive in both specific and general capacities is something to be learned throughout a person’s academic years. The cultivation of these skills is precisely the focus of liberal education. An institution of liberal education aspires to create students who think continuously, think critically and think creatively.

A global language

Recently graduated students will have and will look for different employment avenues rather than sticking with one “stable” job for life. It has become part of the competitive global market laws as much as an individual’s choice to look for better opportunities, expand experience and transfer one’s knowledge across one field, and across many disciplines.

Technical skills, as simple as knowing how to operate a particular computer programme or send an email, that are in demand today, are likely to be replaced by the next more advanced versions. Keeping up requires a sharp aptitude for learning and adapting new skills.

Considering the speed with which technological development is taking place, global citizens must keep up with the new products. Liberal education, properly incorporated in each student’s more specialised path, can give students an understanding of the role of rational desire for intellectual inquiry and debate, sound judgment and a good grasp of basic values across the core disciplines of science, social science, and the humanities. Such intellectual breadth, curiosity and the capacity for flexibility are the main hardware required for figuring out not only what is important to succeed at a job, but enables students to keep an eye on an even bigger picture. Broad-based liberal education is the global language that the rest of the world has been learning for quite sometime now. Conversely, the educational institutions in Pakistan have mostly stopped investing in the subjects of humanities, social sciences and arts.

Empowering individuals

Liberal education is a manner of learning, a commitment to life-time learning. It is not a set of theories that one has to learn by heart and apply as the situation requires. It is not conveniently published as a manual that comes with your first, second or final year of study or employment. It is not “the set of knowledge” that one gains by studying. Liberal education, as defined by the Association of the American College and Universities, is “an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change.”

In an increasingly interconnected world where knowledge is global, yet translation to local languages is required for this knowledge to become useful, “having a feel for” and “being connected” with the subject is not a luxury, but as Bloom and Rosovsky say (“Liberal education: why developing countries should not neglect it,” Liberal Education, Winter 2003), it is a necessity.

Looking towards the future

A liberal education equips students with the ability to look at a problem from different perspectives, understand challenging situations and seek solutions in creative ways. It also empowers students by teaching them to become intellectually curious, getting full information and thus providing them with confidence.

These students will easily become the next generation of informed citizens, actively participating in their community. Informed citizens engage more and seek better ways to improve economic, social and political life. They make better decisions regarding their family, community and country. By having a deeper understaning of the world, informed citizens look for solutions that will last beyond the needs of the moment.

Some of them will gain the ability to become visionaries. Since, by the year 2050 Pakistan will become the third most populous country of the world with an estimated population of 380 million, it is vital to start empowering and investing in the generation that will be the leaders and global citizens of that era.

Improving Pakistan’s economy

According to 2004 estimates, 36 million young people aged 15-24 lived in Pakistan, the most that have ever lived at any other time in its history (Population Council, 2004). This number is probably almost double now. Of them, only four per cent of the 17-23-year-old age group currently receives college or university education in Pakistan, compared to over 50 per cent in developed countries.

If Pakistan can train at least half of its young people aged 15-24 in technical skills, and increase the four per cent made out of the 17-23-year-old age group that currently receives college or university education to double digit percentages, it will hold the keys to the richest bank in the world, an investment that will pay enormous returns in the following years.

To improve Pakistan’s economy, alleviate poverty and become a developed country, wide access of the masses to quality education is required (see “Investing in Higher Education”, Dawn Education, Nov 11, 2007). High-quality education means transforming the current educational institutions of Pakistan to institutions that promote not just a specific, selective kind of knowledge but also a broad-based liberal education. Liberal education opens the minds of students to understanding events and phenomena from multiple angles, the opportunity to find and make connections, the ability to think outside the box, to see beyond the predicted outcome, in a critical, creative, and collaborative manner. A simple technological makeover of education is not sufficient without a liberal education component.

Bringing in a culture of liberal education

Many articles have been written about the current poor status of higher education in Pakistan, which suffers from a lack of resources, financial and academic independence, and a scarcity of degree programmes relevant to the market needs. Government intervention is critical to increase the capacity and quality of vocational and academic training as well as update curricula, libraries and vocational and degree programmes.

This reform will in turn create a labour force that will bring development to the country (see “An open letter to the government”, Dawn Education, June 8, 2008). In addition to government assistance, there is a lot that universities/colleges, faculty, and students themselves can do to help bring in a culture of liberal education.

The core curriculum of colleges and universities must cover study areas such as the history of world civilization, Islamic history and the history of Pakistan, human rights, global economics and politics, some background in visual and performing arts, a discussion of human development/quality of life, creative writing, the principles and art of communication, basic mathematics, ecosystems and the environment, basic astronomy, basic computer science, the principles of genetics and the functioning of the brain.

Every education institution of higher learning must invest in a Departmental Curriculum Committee that can annually design, review, and where needed, introduce additional courses in liberal arts.

The article is written by Rudina Xhaferri and Khalid Iqbal, who work for the Promotion of Education in Pakistan Foundation Inc, USA. 

Email: info@pepfoundation.org

Source : http://www.dawn.com/weekly/education/archive/090104/education3.htm