All The Essential Half Truths About Higher Education

In this refreshing and original exploration, George Dennis O'Brien looks at higher education in America. O'Brien argues that to debate intelligently the future of education we must stop focusing on its ideals and look instead at its institutions. He does this by addressing nine half-truths, such as whether "low cost public education benefits the least advantaged in society," and goes on to examine how accurately they reflect the true state of higher education. The result is a thought-provoking discussion of the present challenges and future prospects of American higher education. "O'Brien's historical overview of the transition from 19th-century denominational colleges to 20th-century research-driven and largely secular ones is provocative. Cleverly written and well-focused, the book addresses the financial pressures facing higher education and asks vital questions about cutbacks and curricula."—Publishers Weekly "Lively, engaging, and richly suggestive." —Francis Oakley, Commonweal "O'Brien employs calm, powerful reason, without sensationalism. His perspective is illuminating. . . . All the Essential Half-Truths About Higher Education is one of the wisest and most useful treatments of American higher education." —John Attarian, Detroit News

George Bernard Shaw thought that a Catholic university was a contradiction in terms—"university" represents intellectual freedom and "Catholic" represents dogmatic belief. Scholars, university administrators, and even the Vatican have staked out positions debating Shaw's observation. In this refreshing book, George Dennis O'Brien argues that contradiction arises both from the secular university's limited concept of academic freedom and the church's defective notion of dogma. Truth is a central concept for both university and church, and O'Brien's book is built on the idea that there are different areas of truth—scientific, artistic, and religious—each with its own proper warrant and "method." In this light, he argues that one can reverse Shaw's comparison and uncover academic dogma and Christian freedom, university "infallibility" and dogmatic "fallibility." Drawing on theology and the history of philosophy, O'Brien shows how religious truth relates to the work of a Catholic university. He then turns to the current controversies over Pope John Paul II's recent statement, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which seeks to make Catholic universities conform to the church's official teaching office. O'Brien rejects the conventional "institutional-juridical" model used by the Vatican as improper both to faith and academic freedom. He argues for a "sacramental" model, one that respects the different kinds of "truth"—thus preserving the integrity of both church and university while making their combination in a Catholic university not only possible but desirable. O'Brien concludes with a practical consideration of how the ideal Catholic university might be expressed in the actual life of the contemporary curriculum and extracurriculum. For anyone concerned about the place of religion in higher education, The Idea of a Catholic University will be essential reading.

This indispensable guide provides a unique insight into the academic profession at a time of major change. It is organized both thematically and geographically with attention given to regions rarely covered, such as China and Latin America. For the first time, here is a book that critically assesses the condition of the professoriate at a time of momentous change when the profession is fracturing along fault lines.

This work is a critique, from an ethical perspective, of contemporary trends in lifelong learning policy and management. It focuses attention on 21 trends, each represented by a fable that is drawn from the experience of a stake-holder. The trends have been selected as exemplifying common responses to contemporary cultural change. They are drawn from a number of different countries and across educational sectors: higher, adult and vocational education and post-compulsory schooling. Each fable is explained, examined and grounded in scholarship on educational change and applied ethics through an accompanying account. The work is directed to educational policy makers and managers. It has been designed for use as a resource in advanced under-graduate and post-graduate professional development programs in educational policy, leadership, change, change management, justice and ethics. Its unique use of fables, accompanying accounts and background theory allows readers to engage with the text at different levels.

This issue looks at spirituality in higher education through a number of lenses, examining what many view as trend towards incorporating spirituality back into the lives of students, faculty, and administrators. Questions about meaning and purpose are as old as humans, and in the earliest days of higher education, the search for truth was the ultimate journey of the student. Over the decades, though, the academy has often shunned the spiritual aspect of a student's education. Whether that is to avoid controversy or to protect from acknowledging that all is not known, there is a predisposition to avoid talking about spirituality in the academy. Regardless, the result is the creation of what T.S. Eliot called "hallow men" who live in this world bit do not know why they are here and thus do not know how to live their lives. This book is responding to a reawakening of desire to avoid such creatures. The issue's purpose, at least in a cursory way, is to look at spirituality in academe through a number of lenses. Composed of chapters from both faculty and administrators, this volume offers insight into the critical need for spirituality in educating the whole student while recognizing that how spirituality is viewed and taught (and experienced) is intensely personal. The goal is not to prescribe how spirituality should be integrated but to offer multiple options and perspectives. Not only will readers learn about the complex and vital role of spirituality, they will also be reminded that the quest for truth and meaning, not the destination, is what is vitally important in shaping discussions about spirituality. This is the 104th issue of the Josses-Bass quarterly support series, New Directions for Teaching and Learning.