It would be interesting to understand how and why this happened; and to be able to quantify and compare the impact on the skills and knowledge gained in college now, to that of, say, the 1980s.
Definitely! There are a few books looking at the issue in terms of "why" and like most larger social phenomenon, it's likely a complex set of variables. My guess is both intentional and unintentional factors coalesced. I know that you can't reason from anecdote, but I have been teaching for almost 20 years and there is a noticeable shift in the students ability to even conceptualize let alone interrogate complexity. They are also afraid to be wrong and afraid to question. I have data from almost 15 years of statistics courses and post-COVID performance is beyond abysmal. There are many different factors in the decline of higher ed. With respect to activism, I'd also argue that its harm in higher education stems in part from the failures to teach skills to young people because of it's infiltration even in these lower grade levels.
It would be interesting to understand how and why this happened; and to be able to quantify and compare the impact on the skills and knowledge gained in college now, to that of, say, the 1980s.
Definitely! There are a few books looking at the issue in terms of "why" and like most larger social phenomenon, it's likely a complex set of variables. My guess is both intentional and unintentional factors coalesced. I know that you can't reason from anecdote, but I have been teaching for almost 20 years and there is a noticeable shift in the students ability to even conceptualize let alone interrogate complexity. They are also afraid to be wrong and afraid to question. I have data from almost 15 years of statistics courses and post-COVID performance is beyond abysmal. There are many different factors in the decline of higher ed. With respect to activism, I'd also argue that its harm in higher education stems in part from the failures to teach skills to young people because of it's infiltration even in these lower grade levels.