<p>I think that there exists widespread misconcetions about "liberal arts vs. professional" as follows. </p>
<h1>1. Liberal arts and (pre-)professional are contradicting with each other.</h1>
<h1>2. Education exists in order to provide society with the job skills it needs and to provide individuals with the job opportunities they want. Because of this, American higher education has seen the expansion of the professional at the expense of the liberal arts. And professional education might be more demanding than liberal arts.</h1>
<h1>3. Much more specialization is effective; the best preparation for work is a professional education rather than a liberal arts; and that specialized training is more efficiently provided in the university than on the job.</h1>
<h1>3. Liberal arts education empowers individuals with broad knowledge and transferable skills, and a stronger sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement. Because of this, American higher education has seen the expansion of the liberal arts at the expense of the professional. And liberal arts is superior to professional.</h1>
<h1>4. The purpose of liberal arts education is the cultivation of a free human being rather than training well-rounded leaders. So pure academics or intellectual focus is more important than well-rounded learning experiences at a college.</h1>
<p>What is your opinion?</p>
<p>Background explanation: Clark Kerrs three elements of American tertiary education</p>
<h1>1. British influence: emphasis on undergraduate liberal education</h1>
<h1>2, German influence: emphasis on research and graduate education</h1>
<h1>3. A third American element: emphasis on professional education and providing practical solutions to public problems.</h1>
<p>Background explanation:</p>
<p>I read David E Labarees book (Mutual Subversion: A Short History of the Liberal and the Professional in American Higher Education). Summarized as follows: </p>
<h1>1. Undergrad and grad education has become professionalized over the years; professional education has increased its influence over liberal arts education.</h1>
<h1>2. Over the same period of time, liberal education has increased its influence over professional education: the content of professional education has been more liberal-arts thing, or the curriculum of the professional schools has become liberal arts (& sciences).</h1>
<h1>3. #1 and #2 are not contradicting with each other. Truth is, according to the author, American higher education is both increasingly professional in purpose and increasingly liberal [arts] in content.</h1>
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<p>This is how we use these terms… Because we’ve defined them in such a way that they are contradicting, they ARE contradicting. You’re going to have to word this differently if you want to get your point across.</p>
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<p>Education exists so people can read the Bible. We, as taxpayers, subsidize education for this reason however.</p>
<p>“Education exists so people can read the bible.” </p>
<p>^^I am talking tertiary education.</p>
<p>Your point had been the most important reason for college education until the civil war period. At that time all the colleges was connected with various sectarians of relious organizations economically and spiritually, and main reason for study is to become a minister, lawyer or politician.</p>
<p>However, college education became wider and deeper thereafter because of unprecident developments in science and technoloy leading to dramatic changes in economy and society and required skills for jobs. At the same time, basics aiming for cutivation of mind became increasingly important. :):)</p>