Large numbers of American college students are quite disengaged from their coursework. Their goal is to get through and collect their degrees with as little effort as possible. Over the last several decades, many schools have decided to accommodate such students (or as a friend prefers to call them, “tuition’s”) by lowering academic standards and introducing fluff classes.
In today’s Martin Center article, Harrington Shaw reflects on this situation. Shaw, a junior at UNC, writes:
Undergraduate student engagement is on the decline. That’s according to the publishing and research firm Wiley, which, in February, released a “State of the Student” survey indicating that student engagement remains a “significant challenge” as universities have returned to in-person instruction. Wiley’s researchers found that more schools are facing enrollment and retention issues, as students are unsure which programs to pursue amid economic and emotional insecurity. Alarmingly, more than half of surveyed undergraduates indicated that they struggle to “stay engaged and interested in their classes,” while nearly half are concerned about keeping up with coursework.
What to do about it? One approach is to make the curriculum more “practical,” focusing on prospective job applications than on “theory.” I think that very dubious.
So does Shaw, who continues, “It is utterly unsurprising that students are disengaged in the classroom when they believe that their four years on campus are a mere ritualistic chore that must be completed in order to begin a career. The desire for more occupational training and pre-licensing preparation in the classroom is a reflection of this misguided approach to higher education.”
If there is a solution to this problem, I think it goes back to earlier education. Lots of students merely coast through their K–12 years with little intellectual challenge from teachers who are mere apparatchiks with cozy union-protected jobs. Few of them were intellectual engaged themselves and don’t inspire their students to want to use their minds.