The Quest for Purpose

While the search for meaning and purpose appears to be a constant throughout human history, there are characteristics about our current time period that make this search different from any other previous time, particularly for college students. In this book, Perry L. Glanzer, Jonathan P. Hill, and Byron R. Johnson explore college students' search for meaning and purpose and the role that higher education plays. To shed empirical light on this complex issue, the authors draw on in-depth interviews with four hundred college students from different types of institutions across the United States. They also analyze three sets of national survey data: the National Study of Youth and Religion, College Students Beliefs and Values, and their own Gallup-conducted survey of 2,500 college students. Their research identifies important social, educational, and cultural influences that shape students' quests and the answers they find. Arguing against a utilitarian view of education, Glanzer, Hill, and Johnson conclude that colleges and universities can and should cultivate and aid students in their journeys, and they offer suggestions for doing so.

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Searching for Meaning and Purpose in College: A Dying Quest? Part I: The Context of the Quest 1. Are Colleges Giving Up on Life's Meaning and Purpose? The Historical and Cultural Context 2. The Adolescent Journey: The Precollege Path to Finding Meaning and Purpose 3. Mapping the Presence of Purpose: How Identity, Social Context, and Education Matter Part II. Figuring Out College Students' Quest 4. Developing Purpose in the Contemporary University: Four Stories 5. Mapping What Makes Life Meaningful 6. The Diverse Purposes of College Students 7. Is Purposelessness a Problem? Part III. Questing in the University 8. Encountering Purpose in the Classroom 9. Looking for Purpose Outside of Class Part IV. The Heart, Hope, and Soul of Purpose 10. Purpose with Soul: The Religious 11. Finding Purpose in a Universe without One: The Nontheists 12. How Does the Story End? Purpose, the Good Life, and the Future Conclusion Appendix A: Methods Appendix B: Interview Guide: 110 Students at 10 Campuses Appendix C: Statistical Supplement to Chapters 3 and 10 Notes Bibliography Index