ERIC Number: EJ852839
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Sep
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0039-3746
EISSN: N/A
Liberal Learning as Freedom: A Capabilities Approach to Undergraduate Education
Garnett, Robert F., Jr.
Studies in Philosophy and Education, v28 n5 p437-447 Sep 2009
In this paper, I employ the pioneering works of Nussbaum, Sen, Saito, and Walker, in conjunction with the U.S. tradition of academic freedom, to outline a capability-centered vision of undergraduate education. Pace Nussbaum and Walker, I propose a short list of learning capabilities to which every undergraduate student should be entitled. This working definition of undergraduate education offers a starting point for discussion and experimentation. I employ it here to engage the current controversy in U.S. colleges and universities over the nature, value, and legitimacy of undergraduate students' academic freedoms. In contrast to the anti-indoctrination emphasis of David Horowitz's Academic Bill of Rights, I argue that students' academic freedoms can be more effectively secured through the articulation of "essential freedoms for liberal learning" whose principal focus is not the behavior or political affiliations of teachers but the intellectual needs and circumstances of students.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Undergraduate Study, Academic Freedom, Competence, Learning Processes, Student Rights, Student Needs, Educational Philosophy, Role of Education, Educational Environment, Politics of Education, Educational Principles, Political Socialization
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A