Independence, Critical Thinking and ‘Self Discovery’

There is a great deal written about higher education and its purpose. There are many different perspectives and explanations of what higher education is, and its underlying purpose. Whether you are just starting out on BAPP Arts on the first module, or engrossed in planning or conducting your Professional Inquiry, I though it might be worth giving you three ideas about the attributes that Higher Education might be seeking to foster in students:

1.    Independence – I think of this as a ‘stance’ where we (students and teachers) each establish our own voice. This is not simply about opinions, but rather recognises the stances of others and our own responses to those positions. Success in higher education is partly about accessing information and views of others to help form our own understanding especially recognising where others are coming from.

2.    Critical Thinking – I think of this as a ‘practice’ where we do not accept any explanations on face value, but explore through questioning the value and meaning of the world around us. This is the practice of keeping an open mind, of questioning what others do and say, and most importantly, challenge our own ideas and views.

3.    Self-Discovery – I think of this as a ‘goal’ where we are trying to use our independence and critical skills to educate ourselves. Higher education of course includes aspects of training (being shown how to do things) and has elements of socialisation (fostering particular behaviours) but for me it is more important that we use the opportunity to find out new and deeper things about ourselves, the world, and our place in it.

As you move through your current studies, it might be worth asking:

Am I simply regurgitating existing views on my topic, interest or task, or am I bringing a worthwhile and personally relevant perspective that adds to my understanding?

To what extent am I happy to accept the ideas of others or my own without critically challenging them?

Am I really trying to improve myself and find out new things?

I would really like to hear your views on this … especially if you have other ways of thinking about this. If you are interested, this came out of a Blog response I posted to a Student Blog.