Ashesi University College, Berekuso - It would be difficult to find a better advocate, and insightful leader in education to deliver a lecture on the importance of liberal arts education to the world, than President of the College of Wooster, Dr. Grant Cornwell.
Dr. Cornwell, in a short and well-presented address, described the shifting trends in educational needs around the world, and highlighted the reasons why the liberal arts education model at Ashesi was even more necessary in the 21st century. He shared the work that he and three other professors were doing to add substance to the idea of a “global education” that could prepare graduates for a highly globalized society.
“We are trying to envision a foundational higher education for the twenty-first century, an education that has some claim to adequacy for the possibilities of human beings today on this earth,” he explained. “We are writing this to provide more depth to the idea of a ―global education, a term that has become commonplace but that, too often, is put forward without adequate substance. It is an education, not for one’s first job, but for a career of leadership. We call this ―An Education for the Twenty-First Century: Stewardship of the Global Commons.”
Expanding the idea of an education for the twenty-first century, Dr. Cornwell suggested that a graduate today needs three areas of knowledge for effective influence – scientific understanding, cultural understanding and understanding of global issues.
“The purpose of a twenty-first-century education is to produce graduates who recognize themselves to be of the world and who also assume responsibility for the world,” said Dr. Cornwell. “Such graduates respect the specificities of particular cultures as well as the need for a global commons. As stewards of such cultures and commons, they draw upon multiple disciplines and viewpoints to address the world’s problems, and they work collaboratively with others to solve them.”
Addressing questions on whether a “Global Education” is practical, Dr. Cornwell added that “if you imagine the qualities and capabilities of graduates of this kind of education, and test them against the research into what employers most eagerly seek when hiring, graduates of this global education will not merely fare well, but will far excel in their readiness to be effective in contemporary careers.”
He shared insight from extensive research conducted by the Association of American College and Universities that showed that “employers seek to hire people with knowledge of human cultures and of the physical and natural world.” The findings of the study showed that employers value graduates with knowledge of new developments in science and technology, the ability to understand global issues and their implication for the future, and other intellectual and practical skills that make the global education he described the most practical possible.
“The kind of education we propose is practical in a much deeper sense; it is preparation for effective and responsible adult agency throughout a life engaged with the global realities we describe. Practical wisdom is the moral and intellectual ability to live well, to prosper and thrive oneself, and, in so doing, to contribute to the prosperity and well-being of others.”