Antiracist and Faith-based: Critical Pedagogy-Informed Writing and Information Literacy Instruction at a Hispanic-Serving, Lutheran Liberal Arts University

English faculty and librarians at a Hispanic-Serving Lutheran liberal arts university collaborated to integrate critical information literacy in a first-year writing course, following the Lutheran educational tradition of valuing inquiry and aligning with a faith-based social justice mission. The authors discuss an Evangelical Lutheran tradition of education committed to antiracism, and the challenges of enacting these values of equity and inclusion while addressing institutional racism. The authors also describe how curricular revisions in writing and information literacy instruction informed by critical pedagogy decentered whiteness in the curriculum, while creating needed opportunities for students and faculty to engage in cross-racial dialogue about systemic racism.

Digital Meta-Skills Development for Interdisciplinary Competence in Foreign Languages Education

The development of digital economy in the XXI century, elaboration of the networked society and communities of knowledge, digitization of education due to pandemic measures have led to revisions of the interdisciplinary and cross-sectorial job market demands of Liberal Arts university graduates' skillsets, upon entering the workforce. This, in turn, stipulates reevaluation of the interdisciplinary approaches to comprehensive professional competences in foreign languages acquisition, education, and application. The study is focused on the diagnostics of the development of meta-learning status, interdisciplinary interoperability of digital competence for students of European (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German) and Oriental (Mandarin Chinese, Japanese) Languages major programs through the span of educational activities in the time-frame of COVID-19 quarantine measures of March 2020 to April 2021. The inquiry derives a model of digital meta-skills for interdisciplinary competence in foreign languages education and professional application. The survey study is implemented to evaluate the digital meta-literacy of foreign languages majors through dimensions of interdisciplinarity of educational content, domains of professional application, soft skills, professional linguistic and communication skills, and customized digital skills for Foreign Languages Education.

Lithuanian University Students’ Motivation to Study English

Lithuanian university students’ motivation to study English as an obligatory study subject seems to be not researched. This is the reason why this study attempts to fill in the existing gap by aiming to learn how motivated Lithuanian students are to learn English at a liberal arts university in which English (as a foreign language) is obligatory to study. 61 upper-intermediate level students at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) in Kaunas (Lithuania) were involved in the study and filled in an anonymous online questionnaire to reflect on their motivation to study English. The questionnaire involved statements on demographic information and 21 statements on different types of motivation. In addition, the research participants needed to explain in writing why they chose specific statements (all of which started with I study English because…). Thus, it was a quantitative and qualitative study, since qualitative data is lacking in various previous research on student motivation. The findings show that the Lithuanian university students are mostly instrumentally oriented. They hardly see English as an obligatory subject, even though it is, and intend to use it mainly as a tool to achieve various goals in the future, for instance, while travelling, communicating and working. Therefore, English teachers should place the learning content in these contexts to increase student motivation to study. This research may also have implications for the teaching of other obligatory non-speciality subjects at a liberal arts university, such as VMU.

Motivations and Perceptions of Student Service Participation

Researchers studying higher education frequently associated community service with liberal arts education. Most research on service participation among college students predominantly studies mandatory service-learning programs. Several studies gathered survey data to analyze opinions and feelings towards volunteering from students at universities with a service-learning component and found that students who participate feel more connected to and engaged in their community. Georgia College & State University (Georgia College or GC), a public liberal arts university, also claims community service is an integral part of their mission because it broadens students’ perspectives and forms engaged citizens. However, there is little data examining student motivations and perceptions of their voluntary service experiences as part of their education at liberal arts institutions. This research project addresses this gap using two methods: (a) participant observation during service events and (b) semi-structured interviewing with both students engaged in voluntary service activities as well as employees who observe student service involvement. Preliminary findings display a wide array of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for student service participation, and interview data relates service to the liberal arts mission as a method of expanding perspectives of students. These results support literature that says students benefit from service participation by both honing their skills and spurring their passion about community involvement. The findings herein add to the literature by exploring motivators for voluntary service participation.

An Exploration of the Perceived Application Preparedness of Undergraduate Students Applying for Professional School

This research study investigated the perceived application preparedness of undergraduate students preparing to apply for professional school. Perceptions of preparedness were measured before and after attending a seminar series focusing on the Centralized Application Service (CAS) portal, writing a personal statement, identifying personal strengths and weaknesses, and interview skills. Data was collected from pre-and post-surveys from undergraduate students enrolled at a small, private liberal arts university in West Tennessee. Electronic surveys were distributed to undergraduate students in a pre-health arts professional program hosted by the university before and after attending the seminar series. Data from 44 students were analyzed to determine if there was a significant impact on perceived level of preparedness before and after attending the seminar series. The data revealed that students had higher perceived application preparedness after receiving formal instruction compared to having no instruction regarding the graduate application process.

A Comparison of Self-Reported Anxiety and Depression Among Undergraduate Music Majors and Nonmusic Majors

The purpose of this exploratory research study was to compare anxiety and depression levels reported by music majors and nonmajors at a small, private liberal arts university. Study participants completed the Burns Anxiety Inventory and Burns Depression Checklist. Anxiety and depression levels were significantly higher among music majors, and there was a strong, positive relationship between anxiety and depression. Regardless of major, self-reports were not affected by year in school. Implications for additional mental health resources and strategies for improving music major health and self-care are discussed, along with a need for increased music faculty awareness of perceived anxiety and depression leading to modified programs of study.