The Impact of the Western Liberal Arts Education in the Mena Region: A Case Study

5 Acknowledgement . 6 Chapter 1 . 7 Introduction . 7 Statement of the Problem . 7 Purpose of the Study . 8 Chapter 2 . 9 Literature Review . 9 Liberal Arts . 9 Liberal Arts Approach . 11 Millennials . 15 The Liberal Arts Education and Millennials . 16 Arab Youth in the Region . 17 Developing a Character using Liberal Arts Education . 19 Transnational Education within a Liberal Arts Education . 21 The American University in Cairo . 22 The American University of Kuwait . 24 Policy Borrowing . 26 The Seven Principles of Good Practice by Chickering and Gamson . 28 Best Practices . 29 Chapter 3 . 31 Methods . 31 Research Setting . 31 Research Questions . 32 Research Method . 32 Entities Selection . 36 The American University in Cairo (AUC). 37 The American University of Kuwait (AUK). 37 IMPACT OF THE WESTERN LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION – CASE STUDY 3 Instrument . 38 Data Analysis . 39 Ethical Consideration . 39 Chapter 4 . 40 Findings . 40 Figure 1 Liberal Educational Charts . 40 Figure 2 Liberal Arts Educational Pie Chart . 41 Inductive Analysis . 42 Major Themes . 43 Major Theme One: Unpreparedness of Faculty in Liberal Arts Education. 43 Major Theme Two: Awareness of Liberal Arts Education. 45 Major Theme Three: Apply Theory to Practice. 47 Major Theme Four: Lack of Implementation. 48 Major Theme Five: Understanding One’s Quality and Value. 49 Major Theme Six: Diversity in Course Options. 50 Minor Themes . 51 Minor Theme One: Diversity among students. 51 Implementations . 52 Offering new higher education courses. 53 Hands-on real-life practices. 54 Cohesive understanding of the liberal arts ideology through students. 54 Service learning courses. 55 Chapter 5 . 57 Discussion and Recommendation . 57 Discussion . 57 Recommendations . 59 Chapter 6 . 62 Conclusion . 62 Figure 1 Transitional Stages – Academic Journey . 63 Research Limitation . 64 IMPACT OF THE WESTERN LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION – CASE STUDY 4 Future Research . 66 Reference . 68 Appendix 1 . 73 Interview Questions . 73 Appendix 2 . 74 Institutional Review Board (IRB) . 74 Appendix 3 . 75 Consent Form . 75 Appendix 4 . 77 Student Interview Email . 77 Appendix 5 . 78 Inductive Analysis Coding . 78 IMPACT OF THE WESTERN LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION – CASE STUDY 5 Abstract This study focuses on the development of the millennial generation within the liberal arts education setting. It has been demonstrated that the values of different generations periodically change. It is the university’s duty to articulate the distinctive sociological, ideological, and psychological variations of each generation in order to provide the most viable educational system. Follow-up researches in different educational systems should be conducted regularly in order to incorporate new data from the rapidly changing millennial generation. This particular research focuses on understanding student development models that adequately demonstrate the effectiveness of a liberal arts education within the MENA region. The emphasis of this paper is on Arab students within transnational settings, focusing on the American University in Cairo and the American University of Kuwait.This study focuses on the development of the millennial generation within the liberal arts education setting. It has been demonstrated that the values of different generations periodically change. It is the university’s duty to articulate the distinctive sociological, ideological, and psychological variations of each generation in order to provide the most viable educational system. Follow-up researches in different educational systems should be conducted regularly in order to incorporate new data from the rapidly changing millennial gen