Renewing Liberal Education as Vocational Discernment

Overview & Synopsis

A major discovery, or rediscovery, of this time is that an education that matters--an education that enhances capacities and expands outlooks--is one that engages the whole student. Research in learning has shown that making sense of the world and learning to use knowledge and skills in responsible and engaged ways--long the developmental goals of liberal learning--require coherent curricula and ways of teaching. This article provides reflection on vocation, grounded in a community of shared interest and support, shifts the framing of higher education. It invites students to engage their college education not as passive consumers, but as protagonists in a collective drama with real import.