ERIC Number: EJ1364404
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-3667
EISSN: EISSN-1527-2060
"Wicked Problems" in General Education: The Challenges of Diversity, Civic Engagement, and Civil Discourse
Schiff, Jennifer; Burton, Carol
Journal of General Education, v68 n1-2 p85-103 2019
Wicked problems have multiple causes, require multifaceted solutions, and have no clear ending point at which the problem is truly solved. Encouraging respectful discourse on campus presented itself as a wicked problem at [institution name removed for the purposes of blind review] when, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. unity march in January 2018, several bystanders hurled racial epithets at the march's participants. In response, the Faculty Senate resolved that the university's Liberal Studies (general education) program create an Inclusive Excellence course requirement for students, with specific emphases on diversity, inclusion, equity, empathy, multicultural understanding, and civil discourse. The intent behind this request stressed the need to strengthen democratic norms by helping students develop stronger civic engagement skills for serving diverse communities. To that end, this article employs a case study approach in examining the efforts of the Liberal Studies program to create an Inclusive Excellence course requirement within its general education curriculum. The attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, but the process underlying the attempt suggested that considerations of scale and unanticipated consequences, clearly defined terms, and the articulation of a cohesive vision for student learning are centrally important to the effective resolution of a curricular wicked problem.
Descriptors: Diversity, Inclusion, Social Justice, Cultural Awareness, Empathy, Democratic Values, Citizenship Education, Liberal Arts, Required Courses, Undergraduate Study, General Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A