Hearts and Minds : The Freshman Challenge / Arthur E. Levine.

Life goals of current college freshmen that are important in planning college programs are considered in this keynote address. Based on results of Carnegie Foundation Student Surveys, information is presented for 1969, 1975, and 1985 on students' optimism/pessimism about college and the future, views about job chances and money, objectives for attending college, attitudes about curriculum reform, and participation in college governance. Students have anxiety about job prospects and are concerned with life's material rewards. They are pleased with the ways colleges are helping them achieve their goals and do not favor curriculum reforms. It is suggested that current students need a college education that provides: (1) skills and knowledge needed to live in the world, (2) hope in the face of fears about jobs and nuclear war, (3) a sense of responsibility in the face of "me-orientation," and (4) a feeling of efficacy. Teaching hope is advocated as part of the freshman curriculum: general education can be seen as the study of humankind's collective hopes and dreams. Colleges are invited to give students a stronger sense of connection with the larger world and a deeper spirit of commitment, even obligation, to others. In response to students' feelings that their acts will not matter, internships and other experiences can show them how they can make a difference. (SW)

AAHE Bulletin, p3-6 Apr 1986. ericd

Microfiche. [Washington D.C.]: ERIC Clearinghouse microfiches : positive.