The discipline of education is a multi-faceted system that must constantly integrate new strategies and procedures to ensure successful learning experiences. Enhancements in education provide learners with greater opportunities for growth and advancement. "Open Learning and Formal Credentialing in Higher Education: Curriculum Models and…

Three undergraduate degrees (in Accounting, Business Studies and Commerce), developed at different times by different departments at Napier Polytechnic in Scotland, introduced a common first year curriculum in 1987-88. For some time the Polytechnic had recognized the need to increase flexibility between courses and to provide students with the…

This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs draws on a report by William Clune and others entitled "The Implementation and Effects of High School Graduation Requirements: First Steps Toward Curricular Reform." Evidence from this indepth study of the effects of education policies in six states indicates that state-mandated increases in minimum course…

Five years ago Los Angeles Unified School District administrators began efforts to ensure that teachers teach students what they are expected to learn and test them accordingly. The initial stage of this projected curriculum alignment was first of all to define the essential skills to be taught in the elementary grades and provide a list of these…

The papers in this collection report on various aspects of a project which studied the effects of educational policies upon classroom teaching. The background of the project is a set of intensive interviews of 43 randomly-selected teachers in 3 diverse school districts. In "Teaching Standards or Standardized Teaching," the point is made that…

This yearbook presents 12 papers comprising recognized experts' thoughts about the content and organization of the various disciplines within the K-12 curriculum. These papers are as follows: (1) "Introduction: What Should Schools Teach?" by Ronald S. Brandt; (2) "Social Studies: The Study of People in Society" by Donald H.…

This document describes the basic education program for the state of North Carolina, as revised by the North Carolina State Board of Education. The first section describes a fundamentally complete program of instruction that would give the student a thorough grounding in the following areas: the arts, communication skills, healthful living,…