Liberal Arts and Sciences Education for the Twenty-First Century in Asia

Abstract

Abstract This chapter presents an overview of the core values of liberal arts and sciences education in Asia and the Pacific, with some examples of recent programs and innovations, and the challenges and transformations deemed necessary in the twenty-first century. Given the hyper-knowledge economy and the high-speed, cross-border mobility of ideas and services in our globalized world, liberal educational imperatives of critical thinking, creativity, and civic engagement have become part of the practical needs of the labor market in Asia and beyond. Nevertheless, there still exists some misinterpretation on its definitions and modalities. For higher education institutions (HEIs) to fully embrace the idea of liberal education or liberal arts and sciences education, they need to go beyond the technocratic, market-oriented, or political approach, and to embrace more philosophically and socially guided ideals for future generations with a vision for and rigor in what we mean by “liberal” learning.