From Amy Baldwin, “Why College?” in College Success (OpenStax, 2020)
The following questioning technique called “The Five Whys” that was originally created by Sakichi Toyoda, a Japanese inventor, whose strategy was used by the Toyota Motor Company to find the underlying cause of a problem. While your decision to go to college is not a problem, the exercise is helpful to uncover your underlying purpose for enrolling in college.
The process starts with a “Why” question that you want to know the answer to. Then, the next four “Why” questions use a portion of the previous answer to help you dig further into the answer to the original question. Here is an example of “The Five Whys,” with the first question as “Why are you in college?” The answers and their connection to the next “Why” question have been underlined so you can see how the process works.
The Five Whys in Action
| Why are you in college? | I am in college to earn a degree in speech pathology. |
| Why do you want to earn a degree in speech pathology? | I want to be able to help people who have trouble speaking. |
| Why do you want to help people who have trouble speaking? | I believe that people who have trouble speaking deserve a life they want. |
| Why do you feel it is important that people who have trouble speaking deserve a life they want? | I feel they often have needs that are overlooked and do not get treated equally. |
| Why do you want to use your voice to help these people live a life they deserve? | I feel it is my purpose to help others achieve their full potential despite having physical challenges. |
My Five Whys
| Why are you in college? | |