What the Enduring Effects of Higher Education Tell Us about a Liberal Education

Abstract

The enduring effects of higher education were studied in 68 men in their early thirties. Systematic and intensive interviews suggested that the principal effects of a liberal education were the stabilization, symbolization, and integration of the men's values. The principal effects of graduate and professional school were primarily the integration and allocentric maturation of the men's intellects and the symbolization of their self-concepts. In comparison to other determinants of adult maturing, such as a man's wife or type of occupation, higher education did not have very pervasive or important maturing effects on a majority of the men. The interviews suggested some ways that colleges could educate more powerfully.