WELL-BEING AS AN ESSENTIALOUTCOME FORGENERAL EDUCATION

Institute on General Education &

Assessment

June 6, 2016

Ashley Finley, Ph.D.

Dominican University of California

& Bringing Theory to Practice

How should students be different by the

time they leave from when they entered?

“To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness.”

Liberal Education = Education…intended to bring about the improvement, discipline or free development of the

mind or spirit.(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

“You’re asking people to be involved. They love that – it’s part of our human nature. People want to be asked to do something bigger than themselves.” (NY Times, 5/16/14)

- Jane Kleeb(Bold Nebraska Initiative)

Connecting Well-Being & Civic Engagement

•Knowledge of Human Cultures & Physical & Natural Worlds•Content areas

•Intellectual & Practical Skills•Inquiry & Analysis

•Critical & Creative Thinking•Written & Oral Communication

•Reading•Quantitative Literacy•Information Literacy

•Teamwork & Problem-solving•Personal & Social Responsibility

•Civic Knowledge•Intercultural Knowledge

•Ethical Reasoning•Lifelong Learning

•Integrative & Applied Learning

AAC&U’s Essential Learning Outcomes

• Personal Growth & Development/ Well-Being

“We break the boundaries between research and teaching, student and teacher, living and learning…[Goal is to] to instill…students an appreciation for the human condition, a concern for the public well-being, and a life-long commitment to learning” - William & Mary

“Instill desire for lifelong learning & love of knowledge”Chatt State CC

“we’ll help you realize a life well-lived—one defined by a love of learning and service to others” – Creighton Univ.

“We foster personal growth w/in an environment in which every individual matters.”Indiana State University

[The University] dedicates itself to the intellectual, cultural, and personal growth of all its members – Kean University

“…and the pursuit of happiness”

Institutional Learning

Outcomes

Intellectual Skills

Civic Capacity Building

Personal Growth &

Development

Critical thinking,

Comm. skills, Info. Literacy,

Quant. Literacy

Ethical reasoning,

Intercultural Competence,

Civic-mindedness

Life-long learning,

Resilience, Sense of purpose, Belonging, Flourishing

Increased Knowledge

Exposure to broad

knowledge,Content

mastery w/in discipline

The absence of mental illness does not equal the presence of mental

health.

- See Keyes, Corey. 2002. “The Mental Health

Continuum: From Languishing to Flourishing in Life.” The Journal of Health and Social Behavior. (43):

207-222.

What do we mean by well-being?

Exploration and Acquisition of KnowledgeStudents explore purpose and meaning through a breadth of knowledge in general education and a depth of knowledge in majors and graduate study.

Development of Intellectual, Professional, and Artistic SkillsStudents prepare for a successful life and career through research and practical application of skills. Students develop: • Critical Thinking and Creative

Expression • Qualitative and Quantitative

Reasoning• Effective Communication • Information Literacy

Practice of Civic Skills and Social ResponsibilityStudents gain skills to become global citizens who act within diverse contexts.Students practice: • Ethical Reasoning• Leadership and Collaboration • Commitment to Sustainability and Social

Justice• Intercultural Understanding and Respect

for Difference

Cultivation of Well-beingStudents engage in personal development to build resilience and support the flourishing of self and others. Students cultivate: • Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Health • Respectful Relationships and Empathy• A Habit of Mind for Lifelong Learning

Institutional Learning Outcomes (Dominican University of CA)

Ryff Model of Well-Being

Psych. Well-Being

Personal Growth

Autonomy

Self-Acceptance

Environ-mental

Mastery

Positive Relation-ships

Purpose in Life

What Does it Mean to “Flourish”?• Flourishing Scale

(Corey Keyes, Emory University)

• Positive emotions

• Satisfaction with life

• Happy with life

• Interest in life

• Positive psychological functioning

• Self acceptance

• Personal growth

• Autonomy

• Purpose in life

o Positive social

connections

• Social contribution

• Social Integration

• Social growth

• Acceptance

o University of

Pennsylvania Positive

Psychology Center: http://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/r

esources/questionnaires-

researchers

Well-being in Students’ Own Words…

“It's like a joy that comes over you because all of a sudden you're studying, and you're going over it, and you're going over it, and all of a sudden, it's like a light comes on…”

“I'm not only motivated by…how I can make the world better just solely by myself, but …more so how I can do that and help…other people…so we can benefit each other…And I think that's…what motivates me. It's just like wholesome goodness.”

Source: Finley & McNair, 2013, Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in High-Impact Practices, http://www.aacu.org/assessinghips

I grew up thinking that I couldn't be here, but here I am now doing all this, and so it made me realize my self-worth, and that I could ask abstract questions, and I could go out and find answers to them, and then tell other people about it...

And it helps give you a sense of self- worth so that way it's not just, hey, I got to do something; it's I want to do something, and I want to make a difference in the world.

Those [engaged] activities provide relationships, and a lot of the time, especially with professors, you build a nice personal relationship, and then they can guide you beyond just that class...

…my curiosity is what is going to keep me going from now until…graduation….[College has] helped me learn that…I'm inquisitive enough to keep pursuing what I really want to do.

National Efforts on Connecting Learning, Civic Engagement & Well-Being

• Bringing Theory to

Practice

• (http://www.bttop.org/)

• 300 funded campuses over

10 years

• Well-Being Initiative

(2013-2015)

o 29 institutions – gathered

evidence related to

programmatic

interventions and effects

on students’ well-being

Engaged Learning

Well-Being

Civic Engagement

• Types of Interventionso Serv.-Learning/Comm.-Based Learning

o Public sphere pedagogy

o Civic mentor program

o Summer programs

o Course redesign w/ focus on civic eng.

o Learning Communities

o First-year experiences

o Racial/ethnic awareness workshop

• Range of Outcomes Assessedo Optimism about making a difference

o Social well-being

o Confidence, self-esteem

o Trust in oneself

o Understanding strengths/weaknesses, Self-awareness

o Moral Development

o Self-efficacy, independenceo Flourishing

o Purpose in life, self-accept., sat. w/ life

o Emotional intelligence/emotional health

Snapshot

of BTtoP

Funded

Work

Emerging Research on the Influence of Climate on Student Flourishing & Well-Being

• Students’ individual

behaviors weakly

related to flourishing

o Prayer

o Volunteering

o Fitness

• Students’ perceptions

of climate matter most

• And particularly…

o Support of ethical and

moral reasoning

o Importance of

contributing to the larger

community

• Personal and Social

Responsibility Inventory

o Striving for Excellence

o Cultivating Academic

Integrity

o Contributing to a Larger

Community

o Taking Seriously the

Perspectives of Others

o Developing Competence in

Ethical and Moral

Reasoning and Action

• Preliminary Research with

5 campuses

Discussion Questions

• In what ways does your campus seek to foster

student development, growth, &/or well-being?

• What are the ways in which specific learning

experiences contribute to students’ personal

growth and development? How does it…

o help students find a sense of purpose or meaning?

o encourage their empowerment to lead or take

ownership of their learning?

o contribute to a sense of belonging?

• How might that sense of growth, purpose, or

meaning be made more explicit to students in

GE?

Resources

• Me: Ashley.finley@dominican.edu

• Bringing Theory to Practice (campus models, assessment resources, information on well-being seminar grants): www.bttop.org

• University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center (assessment resources for well-being): http://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/

• Articles on the connection between well-being, student learning, and civic engagement: o A. Finley, (2016),“Well-Being as an Essential Outcome of Higher Education.”

Change Magazine. 48(2): 14-19.

o J. J. Mitchell, R. D. Reason, K. M. Hemer, & A. Finley, (2016), Perceptions of Campus Climates for Civic Learning as Predictors of College Students’ Mental Health, Journal of College and Character, 17:1, 40-52.

o A. Finley & T. McNair, (2015) “Chapter 11: The Intersection of Life and Learning: What Cultural Wealth and Liberal Education Mean for Whole Student Development.” In Campus intersections: A diversity and inclusion handbook for individuals and institutions in higher education. Sterling, VA: Stylus. Felten, P. and Barnet, B. (editors).