Higher Learning - Hardcover

Bok, D

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674391756 ISBN 13: 9780674391758

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1986

Synopsis

Examines the state of education in American universities, discusses recent developments in higher education, and suggests how universities can make greater contributions to students and society

About this title

Review

In this readable assessment of contemporary American higher education, the president of Harvard comments on what is right and wrong with the teaching and learning processes at the major research universities. With refreshing frankness Bok raises a number of provocative topics, such as the double-edged sword of colleges' competition for everything from athletics to government grants, and professional schools' neglect of the teaching of ethics. Weighing the pros and cons of new trends such as life-long professional education and the computer revolution, Bok considers their long-range impact on tradition-bound institutions of higher learning. He is realistic about the many problems facing higher education, and optimistic about its future.--Patricia Smith Butcher, Trenton State College "Library Journal "

From the Back Cover

Bok concludes that the competition for the best students, the most advanced scholarship, the most successful scientific research, the best facilities--has helped to produce venturesome, adaptable, and varied universities. But because the process of learning itself is imperfectly understood, it is difficult to achieve sustained progress in the quality of education or even to determine which educational innovations actually enhance learning.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674391756
• ISBN 13: 9780674391758
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208