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Evaluating Changes in Social Attitudes, Character Traits, and Liberal-Arts During a Four-Year Program
Research on Christian Higher Education Vol. 3
Lisa Alstadt, Michael Boivin, Barbara Maes, Laura Underwood
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In order to document change among students during their four years at a Christian college, the UCLA Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman Survey was administered to assess social attitudes to a cohort group as freshmen and then four years later as seniors. The Character Assessment Survey (CAS) was used in the same manner to assess character traits as defined Biblically, and the ACT Corporation's College Outcomes Measurement Program (COMP) was implemented to assess changes in academic ability related to traditional liberal-arts domains. Pre- and post-test results for the CIRP indicate modest changes and a general trend toward a more liberal political and social posture. Likewise, there were statistically significant stronger attitudinal commitments from freshman to senior years for three dimensions of the CAS: truth as a guiding principle in life, respect for self, and concern for others. Results from the COMP indicated above average scoring gains in social and moral domains (Communicating, Functioning within Social Institutions) but slightly below average in specific academic domains (Using the Arts, Using Science) when compared to other liberal-arts institutions nationwide completing a similar assessment. These findings represent a preliminary attempt to document change in various domains of the college experience in keeping with the "whole-person" approach typically emphasized among Christian colleges.


Bibliographic Information Top >>
Author :  Maes,B., Alstadt,L., Underwood,L., Boivin,M.
Title :  Evaluating Changes in Social Attitudes, Character Traits, and Liberal-Arts During a Four-Year Program. Research on Christian Higher Education Vol. 3
Publisher :  Council for Christian Colleges & Universities
Publication Date :  1996
Resource Type :  article
 
 

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