By George D. Kuh
Much of the current posturing by policy-makers and pundits about the failure of US colleges and universities to adequately prepare people for today’s workplace is either ill-informed or misguided, in my opinion.
Of course, short term, vocational, skills-based programs are critically important and well suited for many people. This has always been true and will continue to be so. But is this an acceptable policy choice for addressing the demands of the 21st-century workplace and fixing the shortcomings of American higher education?
No, and here’s why.
Intentionally shortening and fragmenting educational and personal development in the name of bolstering economic productivity now is shortsighted, and does a catastrophic disservice to individuals, our national prosperity and the long-term well-being of a civil, democratic society. What’s also troubling is the likelihood that learners from historically underserved groups—low income and ethnic minorities, for example—will be disproportionately represented among (or maybe even tracked into) short-term training programs.
There is no way to know for sure, but I suspect that many of those vigorously proposing vocational education steer their own children toward baccalaureate-granting colleges or universities. Attending such schools increases the odds that students will broaden their perspectives, read and write a fair amount, and devote significant effort over an extended period to pondering difficult questions and generating alternative solutions to complicated problems—the stuff of which the future will be made.
Abbreviating postsecondary preparation programs may well reduce short-term costs for students, institutions and employers. However, privileging short-term job training over demanding educational experiences associated with high levels of intellectual, personal and social development—a foundation for continuous lifelong learning—is a bad idea for individuals, for the long-term vitality of the American economy and for our democracy.
George D. Kuh is the Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of higher education at Indiana University.
Image credits: Cuteimage | Dreamstime.com