College student anti-intellectualism is defined as a general disdain of intellectual and academic endeavors. Eigenberger and Sealander (2001), using the student anti-intellectualism scale (SAIS), reported that SAIS scores were negatively correlated with openness to experience and elaborative/deep cognitive processing. Proneness to boredom,…

Have college students become careerists rather than intellectuals? Are working-class students to blame for grade inflation, grade-grubbing, and the downscaling of the university's noble mission of educating the whole person? These assertions, although somewhat buried in a mass of facts and findings, are present in almost every research study on…

An attack on the recent trend towards untrammeled libertarianism in the classroom.'' (Author/SP)

Traces the anti-intellectual tendency of American religious revivals throughout our history and suggests that educators note the effects of the present surge on the goals and processes of schooling. (Editor)

Analysis of the forces behind the current lowering of academic standards in the universities. (SP)

This paper discusses anti-intellectualism in the United States from a rural viewpoint, defines "ideology," and questions whether the psychology of gifted education is an ideology. Fear and loathing of intellectuals are identified with the working class, a view that distorts the role of intellectuals. A rural view of anti-intellectualism…

It is argued that negative portrayals of the professoriate in popular culture stem from growing anti-intellectualism in American society. College faculty are often derided as those whose work is primarily or entirely theoretical, too esoteric for practical use. Faculty are also portrayed as foolish or eccentric. Popular culture and public opinion…

Many outdoor adventure educators are ignorant of the relevant literature and heritage. Books and tradition have become a waste of time for those who believe all learning must pay in the fast-time global mis-economy of fragments for sale. Yet many university students relish the classics and deeper knowledge, once they are given the opportunity. (TD)

This article discusses signs that America has adopted a negative view of gifted children, including the undermining of the Jacob Javits Act, grade inflation, and a shift in funding and legal mandates from the gifted toward students with disabilities or low achievement. Reasons for this trend and suggestions for responsive action are discussed. (PB)