Unravelling the Influence of Buddhist Liberal Arts Education on College Students' Self-Reflection

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the measurable impact of Buddhist liberal arts courses on college students' ability to engage in self-reflection. This study uses the data gathered to establish, through statistical analysis, any correlations between two variables-Buddhist liberal arts as courses as the independent variable and self-reflection intelligence as the continuous dependent variable. First, the following results of the study show that the mean of the four self-reflection sub-categories for the students who found that the courses were helpful was higher than that of the students who found that they were not helpful: self-awareness (4.10 +/- 0.49 > 3.90 +/- 0.87), self-design (3.84 +/- 0.66 > 3.40 +/- 0.97), self-regulation (4.01 +/- 0.04 > 3.48 +/- 0.18), and self-examination (4.21 +/- 0.03 > 3.94 +/- 0.15), respectively. Second, the mean of the four self-reflection sub-categories for students who experienced a positive change of their perception in the courses was higher than that of students who experienced a negative change, as follows: self-awareness (4.08 +/- 0.50 > 3.75 +/- 0.82), self-design (3.84 +/- 0.68 > 3.51 +/- 0.93), self-regulation (4.00 +/- 0.59 > 3.56 +/- 0.67), and self-examination (4.17 +/- 0.49 > 4.04 +/- 0.73), respectively. This study illuminates the role of Buddhist-related liberal arts courses in higher education, specifically in fostering students' self-reflection skills. It offers valuable insights into educational practices aimed at enhancing self-reflection levels.