Education

This is the logo from one of my colleges, Fordham. There are a wide variety of topics, including education reform, that are suitable here.  

While my focus started most tangibly when A Nation at Risk was published in 1983, another book that I regularly contemplate, that I encountered when consulting to Cambridge College (MA) is An American Imperative: Higher Expectations for Higher Education – An open letter to those concerned with the American future, 1993.  Produced by the Wingspread Group and accessible for loan at The Internet Archive unset0000unse_f9f1      or https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL5113391A/Wingspread_Group_on_Higher_Education

I presented some ideas on epistemology at the colloquium at Naugatuck Valley Community College, April 22, 2016,  on The Role of the Liberal Arts in Higher Education and Democracy.   The topic was “A Practical Strategy for Epistemological Engagement of Non-Traditional Learners in an Intensive, Required, Online Writing and College Research Class.” Without an organized body of accepted knowledge for humanity how can we ever work together effectively to manage our futures?  This doesn’t mean it is exclusive, or can’t change, but we need a common starting point for the common good of humanity.   The spread of relativism just leads to conflict and Orwellian revisionism, and when combined with overconsumption and waste is worrisome.  FLYER

Here is the presentation with links built into it by way of a bibliography but I am going to continue to work on it including a shorter and longer version.  NVCCPresentation

Links alone Links

There are a number of sources I am using or will use, including writing by Neil Postman, Brian Swimme and the following, herein per permission of the author: Darlaston-Jones_19(1)

Attached is a large poster, four-feet long, as a PDF, that I made for an invitation only conference in April at Southern CT State U.  “The Challenges of Writing & Research in The Digital Revolution: Student Empowerment in a Required, OER, Online, Cornerstone Course”4th Annual FAC Conference on Student Success and Shared Governance. Southern CT State University April 13, 2018 — “Preserving Access, Building Futures, Creating Justice” 

Problems: The Knowledge Deficit & the Argument Culture in The Shallows — The Culture of Consumption & Job Automation, Time Famine, Distractions & (Dis)(Mis)Information

COSCPoster2018

This list of topic areas is from a call for proposals entitled

The Challenges to Public Higher Education in the Era of Globalization, April 3 2020 – 2020 FACULTY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONFERENCE At Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT

Now, the challenges to public higher education are multifaceted and amplified in this era of rising tuitions and administrative costs of public higher education; therefore, research scholars need to carefully and thoroughly examine these challenges as we move forward in this era of globalization because the development and diffusion of modern technologies arise from the acquisition of human capital provided by higher education. The challenges to public higher education became noticeable since the 1980s, just as globalization, which empowered many countries around the world to become more open to foreign trade and investment, gained momentum. The openness to international commerce and capital mobility, which led to the quick diffusion of modern technologies and global demonstration effects, came with many challenges.

1.      Funding of public higher education: What is the rationale for the reduction in the funding of public higher education in this era of globalization? Why would the government not fund public higher education the same amount it funds wars? Can public higher education survive from the skyrocketing tuitions and administrative costs? Can colleges and universities achieve optimum funding through external sources? What are some of the challenges and consequences if public higher education relies solely on external funding?

2.    Digital pedagogies and immersive technologies in public higher education:  Today, smartphones or cell phones, e-books and online rentals arethe new alternatives to the traditional textbooks. How do we determine and measure the contributions of immersive technologies to the students’ academic success or failure? Are laptops in the classrooms and the students’ easy access to digital pedagogies helpful in the delivery of lectures?  Do digital pedagogies and immersive technologies raise or undermine the quality of public higher education?

3.     Contemporary issues in public higher education:  Accessibility, diversity and equity were issues of major concerns or challenges in public higher education, which led to the creation of various offices to address these issues.  Along with these issues, colleges and universities in public higher education are also confronted with the problems of enrollments, retention, and graduations rates.  What factors explain the problems of low enrollments, retention, and graduation rates in public higher education? Are these problems in any form linked to the reduction in financial aids?

4.     Corporatization of public higher education: While the main objective of any corporation is profit maximization if it wants to remain a viable corporation, the indisputable objective of higher education is the promotion of maximum accumulation of human capital necessary for adaptability and sustainability. Will public higher education be corporatized where profit maximization will supersede human capital acquisition/maximization? Will the introduction/application of corporate strategies and/or managerial styles to colleges and universities minimize/eliminate the challenges confronted by public higher education? Will the surge in corporate interests in higher education debase the basic premise of liberal arts education? Who are the gainers and losers when public higher education is completely corporatized?

5.     Structure of shared governance and curriculum management:  The issues of shared governance and curriculum management remained pivotal in the efficient and effective delivery of public higher education. The ongoing assault on share governance and curriculum management raises questions that academic leaders and research scholars need to confront. Will the struggle for complete control continue to undermine the structure of shared governance and curriculum management in colleges and universities? What structure of governance [(a). Presidents, Regional Presidents, or Chancellorship, and (b). Board of Trustees (BOT) vis-à-vis Board of Regents (BOR)] is ideal for public higher education? Can public higher education survive from the skyrocketing administrative costs? 

6.    The effects of immigration on public higher education: In this era of globalization, immigrants from different countries worldwide qualify for admissions into many colleges and universities. Do we have adequate resources necessary to accommodate the rapid inflows of the new generation of immigrants into our colleges and universities? 

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Explore ways of knowing and the meaning of education today.