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September 20, 2006
How the Public and Parents View Higher Education
I'm reading Declining by Degrees, Edited by Richard Hersh and John Merrow. A wonderful Foreword by Tom Wolfe seduced me into buying the book ... He spoke to a large group at Harvard and was surprised to find, "they were all dressed like nine year olds." The book has essays by James Fallows, Howard Gardner and other notables. I'm not yet sure if the book was a good purchase. But, here's something interesting, I think.
The results of survey of the general public and parents (2000):
| Absolutely essential (%) | Important, but not essential (%) | Not too important (%) | |
| A sense of maturity and how to manage on their own | 71 | 26 | 2 |
| An ability to get along with people different from themselves | 68 | 29 | 2 |
| An improved ability to solve problems and think analytically | 63 | 34 | 1 |
| Learning high-tech skills, such as using computers and the Internet | 61 | 35 | 4 |
| Specific expertise and knowledge in careers they have chosen | 60 | 35 | 4 |
| Top-notch writing and speaking skills | 57 | 38 | 4 |
| The responsibilities of citizenship, such as voting and volunteering | 44 | 47 | 9 |
| Exposure to great writers and thinkers in subject like literature and history | 32 | 53 | 14 |
Source: John Immerwarh with Tony Foleno, "Great Expectations: How the Public and Parentss -- White, African, and Hispanic -- View Higher Education," as printed in Declining by Degrees, Hersh and Merrow, p. 27.
Because the survey was done in 2000, the 'high-tech' skills such as using computers and the Internet is probably overblown. Is there any college student today who doesn't know how to use the Internet?
It might be worth discussing this in class with our students. I wonder how they perceive these in importance? Maybe survey the class and then show the results?
How would a survey of professors evaluate these? Or a survey of IS professors in particular? I'd guess items 3, 4, and 5 would score higher.
Posted by DavidK at September 20, 2006 07:29 AM | Permalink