Examples of Good Practice from Pathways to College

In a recently published book, Teach Them to Challenge Authority: Educating for Healthy Societies (Continuum Press International, 2008), Gregory S. Prince, Jr. argues that universities, their boards and presidents have a responsibility to model the behavior and values that they seek to instill in their students. Because of that principle, university leaders cannot remain neutral in the face of critical social issues. By taking positions with which members of their community may disagree, they are giving their students an opportunity to learn how to challenge authority in appropriate and constructive ways. Developing that capacity is essential to the health of democratic societies. The book describes model universities in Asia, Europe, and North America that have exemplified that principle as a means of refuting those who argue universities should remain neutral.

This page is part of a series of Examples of Good Practice.