Higher Education Accountability Measures Need to Take Into Account Two Cultures of Engagement

CSHE > News > Higher Education Accountability Measures Need to Take Into Account Two Cultures of Engagement

Steven Brint, Allison M. Cantwell and Robert A. Hanneman have released a new working paper that challenges the idea that undergraduate student engagement can be defined as active participation in class and deep interest in the ideas presented in class. Instead, they conclude that this description fits the culture of engagement in the arts, humanities and social sciences, but not the dominant culture of engagement in the natural sciences, business, and engineering.

The author’s base their analysis on upper-division students in the University of California system using the University of California’s Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES) – a survey instrument administered by the Student Experience in the Research University Project (SERU) based at CSHE. Using data on upper-division students in the University of California system, the paper shows that two distinct cultures of engagement exist on campus. The culture of engagement in the arts, humanities and social sciences focuses on interaction, participation, and interest in ideas. The culture of engagement in the natural sciences and engineering focuses on improvement of quantitative skills through collaborative study with an eye towards rewards in the labor market.

The two cultures of engagement are strongly associated with post-graduate degree plans. The findings raise questions about normative conceptions of good educational practices, such as those of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), in so far as they are considered to be equally relevant to students in all major fields of study. The paper also finds that male students and students from socio-economically advantaged backgrounds score higher on scales measuring both cultures of engagement.

The paper argues that the current system works well in generating field-specific cultures of engagement linked to graduate degree aspirations and careers. The system works because cultures of engagement in the majors are closely connected to requirements in graduate degree programs related to undergraduate majors. Students choose majors that will help prepare them for these programs, find their interests enhanced if they are able to conform to one of the two cultures of engagement, and use grades to monitor the likelihood of their success in graduate studies. However, one clear weakness of the current system is the greater hospitability of the existing cultures of engagement to men and to students from socio-economically advantaged backgrounds. Another weakness may be that grade inflation in the arts, humanities, and social sciences leaves some students without an accurate mechanism for assessing their likely success in graduate studies. Understanding the benefits and weaknesses of each form of engagement will be crucial to improving the effectiveness of public education.

Steven Brint is a SERU Project Co-PI and Professor of Sociology at the University of California Riverside campus; Allison M. Cantwell is a graduate student at UCR, and Robert Hannerman is Professor of Sociology also at UCR.

For access to the study, see: http://cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/publications.php?s=1

CONTACT:
Dr. Steven Brint
steven.brint@ucr.edu

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