ABSTRACT

Universities have multiple functions of teaching, research, community development, and social impact, with the teaching function often thought of as just equipping students with professional knowledge and skills. However, the purpose of students’ higher education may span more than just career preparation, and this knowledge of other purposes could influence how universities can provide opportunities for attaining these goals. Through in-depth interviews of undergraduate students, we find three core purposes of higher education: It qualifies students to receive the necessary knowledge, skills, and certification for professional involvement; it socialises them to broader perspectives of society and others; and it makes them subjects who think for themselves and clarify what values they hold. Although most students still put primacy on the qualification purpose of higher education, the integration of these three purposes will have an impact on how education quality may be more clearly understood, better assessed, and more intentionally pursued.

摘要

大学具有教学、研究、社区发展和社会影响等多重功能，而教学功能通常被认为只是为学生提供专业知识和技能。然而，学生接受高等教育的目的可能不仅仅是职业准备，对其他目的的了解可能会影响大学如何提供实现这些目标的机会。通过对本科生的深入访谈，我们发现高等教育的三个核心目的：使学生有资格获得专业参与所需的知识、技能和认证；它使他们能够以更广阔的视角看待社会和他人；这使他们成为主体他们独立思考并阐明自己持有的价值观。尽管大多数学生仍然将高等教育的资格目标放在首位，但这三个目标的整合将对如何更清楚地理解、更好地评估和更有意识地追求教育质量产生影响。