Elements of the Program
Three elements are woven together to help students develop a greater sense of their "paideia" (or sum total of their education). The Paideia Program provides students with the opportunity to build their education, intentionally, through the weaving together of these elements.
Civic Engagement
The individual citizen's personal investment in societal issues is known as civic engagement. Active participation in civic activity, in the form of voluntary service and an academic study of that service, is a form of civic engagement called service-learning. It is an important component of the Paideia Program. Service-learning leads students to an understanding of their role as citizens in a democracy, enables them to view themselves as active agents in their society and to become problem-solvers. Scholars link their service experience to their academic knowledge to gain insight into social, public, ethical, and/or environmental policy issues.
Intercultural/ Diversity Experience
The Paideia Program offers the opportunity to integrate various aspects of liberal learning to create a rich academic experience. Engagement with other cultures and ways of thinking enables one to understand varied perspectives, and therefore is a critical step towards becoming liberally educated.
Collaborative or Guided Research & Creative Works
The Paideia experience requires students to engage in a meaningful research or creative experience with an appropriate expert or artist while at Southwestern University. Faculty working with students in the development and completion of a research project or artistic endeavor is the best form of teaching.
As a signature element to the program, Paideia Scholars work closely with Paideia Professors who play a vital role in helping students make intentional connections among their experiences in ways that encourage them to reflect on what they learned and how they grew through each experience. Such reflection supports what liberal arts study aims to do: encourage students to become critical thinkers and broaden their perspective on the world around them.
