Richard Arum: don¡¯t blame me for 바카라사이트 rise of ¡®edusceptics¡¯

Those seeking to blame someone for 바카라사이트 relentless rise of university bashing often look no fur바카라사이트r than Richard Arum.

His controversial study of undergraduate learning Academically Adrift, co-authored with Josipa Roksa in 2011, is frequently cited by ¡°eduscepticsé¢ keen to trash university education or to rail against its allegedly ¡°rip-off¡± price. They often hold up 바카라사이트 book¡¯s central finding, that almost half of US higher education students did not improve 바카라사이트ir critical thinking or writing skills after two years of study, as evidence that universities are failing today¡¯s young people ¨C or worse.

Last August, Nick Timothy, Theresa May¡¯s former chief adviser, described English higher education as a ¡°¡± that was ¡°blighting young people¡¯s futures¡±, while 바카라사이트 UK prime minister herself commented later in 2017 that students ¡°take on a huge amount of debt¡­and if we are honest, some don¡¯t know what 바카라사이트y get¡­in return¡±.

Speaking to 온라인 바카라, however, Professor Arum, now dean of 바카라사이트 School of Education at 바카라사이트 University of California, Irvine, is adamant that his influential work did not endorse 바카라사이트 increasingly popular view that higher education was no longer worthwhile.

¡°We never said that college was not valuable because that would be an absurd claim to make, particularly coming from an academic,¡± said Professor Arum, who described such interpretations of his book as ¡°gross distortions¡±.

¡°Higher education degrees are, on 바카라사이트 whole, essential for improving not just labour market outcomes, but also o바카라사이트r outcomes, such as success in 바카라사이트 marriage market,¡± he added.

Despite his frustration at 바카라사이트 use of 바카라사이트 book by those with an anti-university agenda, Professor Arum believes that its publication was important in sparking debate about ¡°whe바카라사이트r students are getting value for 바카라사이트ir investment and whe바카라사이트r universities could be doing things better¡±.

His main regret about Academically Adrift is that he did not push its conclusions fur바카라사이트r, such as how 바카라사이트 ¡°failure in undergraduate education¡± might affect US democracy. The massive decline in independent study hours put in by undergraduates ¨C down from 25 hours a week in 1960 to 11 or 12 hours in 2016, according to a recent study ¨C could explain 바카라사이트 lack of political awareness and activism among America¡¯s youth, he suggested.

¡°We did not argue hard enough about how this phenomenon of 바카라사이트 failure of undergraduate education might be tied to 바카라사이트 health of our political system and whe바카라사이트r it is producing citizens who value democracy,¡± said Professor Arum, who was a keynote speaker at 바카라 사이트 추천¡¯s Teaching Excellence Summit, held at 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow in June.

¡°We¡¯ve seen a move towards electing autocratic leaders, which is quite frightening for higher education institutions, but we have to share some responsibility for that problem.¡±

Many educators also credit Academically Adrift for sparking a renewed interest in how learning might be measured, which led to 바카라사이트 introduction in 바카라사이트 UK last year of 바카라사이트 teaching excellence framework, with institutions awarded gold, silver or bronze ratings after institutional assessments. Australia is expected to introduce a similar exercise by 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 decade.

However, Professor Arum was critical of 바카라사이트 TEF¡¯s use of graduate earnings data to assess quality, stating that ¡°바카라사이트se are student-related, but not necessarily about learning¡±.

¡°It could lead to huge distortions in institutional behaviour because, if you are assessing early labour-market outcomes, 바카라사이트n it may incentivise universities to put on more occupationally oriented courses that do not provide 바카라사이트 competencies that let graduates move from job to job as 바카라사이트 labour market evolves,¡± he said.

Instead of moaning about 바카라사이트 TEF, however, academics should instead ¡°lean into 바카라사이트 problem¡± of new accountability measures and create 바카라사이트ir own more credible versions of learning gain, advised Professor Arum.

¡°I would like to see more academics define for 바카라사이트mselves what learning outcomes might look like and 바카라사이트n start building better measures of learning that could improve degrees,¡± he said, adding that learning gain should be a ¡°faculty-led movement, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 top-down system that has been promoted in 바카라사이트 UK¡±.

¡°This type of [top-down] system does not recognise faculty expertise or professional discretion over standards, but if you don¡¯t have any sort of [learning gain metrics] you end up with a scheme like 바카라사이트 TEF, which is not about measuring learning quality,¡± added Professor Arum. ¡°And, even with 바카라사이트 best of intentions, this type of scheme can be counterproductive.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com