The Elective Model in American Higher Education and Charles Eliot’s Contributions

The civil war’s conclusion signaled the beginning of the transformation of numerous industries. Traditional courses that served the needs of the pre-Civil War industries were long provided by the education sector. After this terrible conflict came to an end, it became clear that America needed to change its educational system in order to keep up with the shift in economic and technological priorities caused by an increase in material wealth, higher living standards, and industrialization. A brilliant researcher, mathematician, and chemist, Charles Elion emerged as a mystery in the rewriting of America’s educational history. Through his studentship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and leadership at Harvard University, the American higher education found its way to reform that has put it on the world map. This paper, therefore, delves into Charles Eliot’s contribution into the American school system and unpacks America’s elective model in higher education.

THE ELECTIVE MODEL IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN AMERICA AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CHARLES ELIOT Introduction

Colleges in the early colonial eras focused on seven key liberal arts which included grammar, logic, astronomy, music, geometry, arithmetic and rhetoric O’Connor (1970). While these pre-determined courses prepared populations for employment, the end of the civil war necessitated a shift in focus on the educational approach considering that the economic, technological, social, cultural and political environment gave way to modernization. Before the educational transformation, the American curriculum primarily focused on instilling conduct, civic virtue and overall character shaping through its education processes. Harvard, Princeton, and Yale shared a common curriculum which focused on human-virtue centered education. Denham (2002) suggests that these attributes are based on borrowed cultures from the Greeks, Latinos, and Hebrews. Those mentioned above were integrated into the learning of medicine, theology, and law and regarded as prerequisites and success recipes.

In the wake of industrialization, it became apparent, as Carl (2009) elucidates that the education sector required a sharp restructuring to adapt to the demands of the quickly shifting needs. Eliot became a strong proponent of the political theory of freedom. The “freedom” rhetoric encapsulated a flexible and adaptive curriculum which took into cognizance the changing times and needs of the global society. While Harvard’s Josiah Quincy had long before attempted the elective curriculum by the establishment of a few parallel courses, the ground had begun to soften for new courses. This parallel coexistence supported the development of other ideas that nurtured vocational learning while providing more opportunity for career specific courses. With the end of the civil war, Lucas (1994) documents that most American higher education institutions realized the need for embracing a more pragmatic approach to education. The contention by many scholars against this model came from the creation of numerous courses. John Cobrin, for example, mentioned that the swelling number of classes made it significantly hard for students to choose their preferred courses.

With lecturing becoming the new system of teaching, many learning institutions experienced an influx of specialists trained in specific units. Charles Eliot had become the most probable candidate owing to his experience gathered as a mathematics and chemistry associate professor.

Incidences that Shaped Charles Eliot’s Career path

Thelin (2007) asserts that as part of the American character, a strong belief in individualism and unrestrained opportunity exist. The preceding resonates with Charles Eliot’s idea which he later translated into the then education system. Charles made his way into Harvard in the year 1849. The end of his tenure as associate professor of mathematics and chemistry at Harvard University paved the way for him to further his studies in Germany. As part of the envoy that had come back to share the good tidings envisaged in Germany, Charles resolved to promote a renewed focus on research and science with a distinctive approach to graduate training. Charles was a clergyman and had gathered scientific knowledge from Harvard and Germany. Upon his completion of his further studies in Germany, Charles was offered a professorship position in Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he furthered his resolve for a responsive education system for America. His acumen in research methods from the University of Marburg gave him the edge and desire for an equality focused school system that would prepare students and teaching staff to solve the needs of future generations. Charles, additionally, took pride in an education system which valued the difference in individual preference and choice which he thought imperative in creating a favorable environment for the professor and the student to achieve their best. As a product of the German-miracle which had a strong emphasis on freedom in learning, Charles opted to introduce research as an integral part of a real university.

Improvements to the America’s Higher Education System through the Elective System

Bergeron (2009) in her commencement speech mentioned that America’s higher education has undergone a necessary metamorphosis and Brown University had its fair share of changes in the curriculum. With the coordinated help of the faculty, course advisors and a set of principles, Brown University, as mentioned by her, makes it possible for students from all walks of life to craft their ”core.” By making this submission, Bergeron alludes that students can make independent liberally but informed decisions concerning the directions of their careers. Evidently, America’s elective higher education curriculum has made it possible for institutions to produce professionals in diverse fields and create a learning environment that enhances the development of new areas through research. By focusing on research as a key point for educational development, Charles had to lure key professionals by offering competitive wages. As an additional method of attracting employees who were unproductive, Charles created a system of pension that encouraged early retirement for the unmotivated faculties. Sabattical leaves and scholarships were a flagship of Charles. He endeavored to create incentives for every category of professors who would then find it lucrative to work at Cambridge. By putting together such incentives, Charles was able to put together a faculty which exempted motivated and superior characteristics. While these reforms appeared to be not part of the elective system, his approach to an elective system was radical. Seniors in Harvard had the opportunity to select their electives and later on, gradually, first-year students had the discretion to choose some electives. Charles Eliot appears to take issue with the exclusivity of the old curriculum. The elective curriculum boasts of a four-fold benefit. First, Charles focused on matching students’ capacities with their preferred courses to improve their freedom in learning and motivation for learning. By offering a broad range of courses and units, Harvard was able to attract different students with different learning needs.

Through specialization in college, the students would also aptly prepare earlier for future engagements as professionals in their field. Charles had also foreseen that there would be courses that would be needless to some students given their preference and, therefore, a lot of time loss would result in pursuing worthless ends. By devoting more time to core courses, Charles found it prudent for students to mature quicker in their preferred areas of specialization. The second positive stride by the elective system is the independence to investigate and teach. By instituting research as part of graduate work, Harvard and other universities globally can provide new areas of insights and to device new ways of doing things. Similarly, professionals employed to teach and advise higher education students have the independence to explore new thematic areas within their disciplines and to offer strategic advice that would give rise to more innovations. In overall, the new elective system provided people with the opportunity either to students or as professionals in various disciplines. The elective system was also designed to restructure the social structures that influenced scholarly work. With the old regime built upon traditional structures of class, it was almost impossible for people from other religions and denominations to study Hebrew and Latin as ways of life.

With the new elective system, a free learning environment developed. Work that was predominantly memory-related gave way for more enhanced critical thinking courses and education which avail many interventions in the current world. Other areas of learning were also developed to support elective learning; these approaches included; seminars, field excursions, studies, minors, majors and application exams based on the academic curriculum. The elective education system would then pave the way for flexible learning hours and durations and terms of learning. This arrangement gave rise to short course and four-year courses which would offer different kinds of degrees and diplomas – as explained by Bergeron (2009).

While there were many positives brought by the elective system, Charles is also known for introducing the conflict between the clergy and scholars. There was less regard for spiritual emphasis and a degeneration of moral, as rightly put by many critics of the new education system. Further, there was a loss of unity - following the loss of a common spiritual backbone. An additional element is the loss of educational depth following the influx of the number of students who would then join universities. Critics argue that best results were sacrificed at the altar of average for many since a stretched focus on many students meant that it was impossible to give due attention and, therefore, there was a compromise on academic excellence.

As put by Connor (1970), the old education system seems not to have been putting the student at the focus of teaching. By putting the student at the center of educational focus, an elective system meant that it was not a prerequisite for all educated people to be knowledgeable in the same faculties. Some find fault in the elective system by mentioning that it downplayed the human element of learning. By sitting in boards and discussing with teachers and educational advisors, Charles created a stimulating environment for Harvard. This education system would then provide the competitive edge and cooperation between technocrats and for the university in general. A closer look into this move reveals a steady decline in quarrels and discontentment by faculties.

Thelin (2007) mentions that the American higher education has experienced a surge in numbers by students from the 18th century considering the stakes were different in comparison to the 21st century. The ability to enroll more students in higher education is possibly due to the inclusive nature of the education sector and due to the widespread nature of elective systems.

Conclusion

While America’s higher education system is believed to be one of the most robust globally, history suggests that many educationalists took their fair share of an attempt to bring about this change. It is evident that 21st century needs require solutions crafted with understanding and knowledge. Charles had seen that with the sudden shift to technological and educational dependence, the world would develop a high number of knowledgeable specialists in various industries. With the current happenings, educational systems need to take cognizance of the increased effect of globalization on industries and sectors. It is therefore imperative for professionals and learning institutions to design courses that create solutions for the 21st century and create more opportunities for people with diverse learning needs to be able to take part in shaping the world into a better place. As Charles became the emblem for higher education change through the establishment of electives, there is a need for more learned people to develop that trade to be adaptive and responsive to the demands of the 21st century. Learning institutions need to cash in on the already-established systems that promote individual-centered education. As explained by Butucha (2015), by shifting the focus of traditional way or managing education into a more inquiry-based approach, learning institutions will support research which eventually spurs significant innovations.

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