Future for Education?
Yesterday Tim Swenson and I went to a Town Hall meeting hosted by the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) president to discuss possible changes in ABHE. Being fairly new members of the association, this is the first of these that staff from ILT has had the opportunity to attend. It was a fascinating experience for the two of us. This meeting was in response to ABHE's own strategic planning and focused on addressing some threats and opportunities they face. The big question of the day was about how to be prepared for the changes coming in the future of higher education in North America.
One of the challenges addressed was the continuing debate between the value of career-focused education and a liberal arts education. There has been a dramatic shift in what potential students believe an education should accomplish. This is a shift from the student wanting to receive a well-rounded broad-based education to an education that will ensure job placement and advancement. In a recent Barna study, it was found that even among those interested in a Christian undergraduate degree job placement, base salary, and job advancement were the key concerns.
In this market then, it seems that career-focused education has an advantage over a liberal arts education. There is also generally increased skepticism about the necessity of a liberal arts education. Honestly, I had this question as a student at Concordia too. I ask, "Why am I stuck here learning chemistry and physics when there are people out there dying without Christ? Why do I have to do all this just so that I can be sent to them?" In my case, I am glad I received a liberal arts degree because I was able to transition from being a church worker to a business manager. Without the broader education I received, that transition would not have been possible.
In my opinion, there will be a renascence of sorts brought on by the technological revolutions coming in the near future and a liberal arts education will become increasingly important. In the articles I have read on the subject, the employers are saying they need more and more people who have communication, critical thinking, and leadership skills. As more task-oriented jobs are being taken over by computers and robots, there are more and more jobs where person to person interactions and critical thinking are required. The technology is so complicated and the changes so rapid that employers don't want graduates who have been trained, but employees who can be trained.
If this is the case and jobs like truck driving and retail work become more and more automated, the jobs available will be those that require the type of education you receive from a liberal arts degree. It may be that career-focused education will only serve to fill the gap as we transition to more AI supported jobs. Regardless, there is no way to automate the pastoral office, although some have tried. Pastors, church workers, Christian teachers will always be needed in the church. The schools of ABHE will need to think critically about how that education will look in this new future we will encounter.
One of the challenges addressed was the continuing debate between the value of career-focused education and a liberal arts education. There has been a dramatic shift in what potential students believe an education should accomplish. This is a shift from the student wanting to receive a well-rounded broad-based education to an education that will ensure job placement and advancement. In a recent Barna study, it was found that even among those interested in a Christian undergraduate degree job placement, base salary, and job advancement were the key concerns.
In this market then, it seems that career-focused education has an advantage over a liberal arts education. There is also generally increased skepticism about the necessity of a liberal arts education. Honestly, I had this question as a student at Concordia too. I ask, "Why am I stuck here learning chemistry and physics when there are people out there dying without Christ? Why do I have to do all this just so that I can be sent to them?" In my case, I am glad I received a liberal arts degree because I was able to transition from being a church worker to a business manager. Without the broader education I received, that transition would not have been possible.
In my opinion, there will be a renascence of sorts brought on by the technological revolutions coming in the near future and a liberal arts education will become increasingly important. In the articles I have read on the subject, the employers are saying they need more and more people who have communication, critical thinking, and leadership skills. As more task-oriented jobs are being taken over by computers and robots, there are more and more jobs where person to person interactions and critical thinking are required. The technology is so complicated and the changes so rapid that employers don't want graduates who have been trained, but employees who can be trained.
If this is the case and jobs like truck driving and retail work become more and more automated, the jobs available will be those that require the type of education you receive from a liberal arts degree. It may be that career-focused education will only serve to fill the gap as we transition to more AI supported jobs. Regardless, there is no way to automate the pastoral office, although some have tried. Pastors, church workers, Christian teachers will always be needed in the church. The schools of ABHE will need to think critically about how that education will look in this new future we will encounter.
"...they need more and more people who have communication, critical thinking, and leadership skills. " Oh, how this applies to the pastoral office! The last several decades have witnessed a disregard for these skills in favor of a more "enthusiastic" skill set, e. g. "a heart for Jesus," "a sincere desire to be Christian," or "a personal relationship with Jesus." We've now reached a point where many occupying the pastoral office do not have the language skills (oral or written) to communicate the Gospel, do not have the critical thinking skills to distinguish the truth of the Gospel from the many false "gospels," and do not have the requisite leadership ability to stand strong against the opponents of the Gospel or deal the certain conflict they bring about. The epithet: "credentialed but not educated" applies to the graduates of once-fine-schools and to those who now imagine themselves to be such schools.
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