In 2007, I began research for my doctoral dissertation on what a curriculum in an undergraduate degree in homeland security should look like. At that time, the field of homeland security was a nascent discipline, and as such it did not have a standardized academic curriculum. There were several institutions of higher learning in the United States…

Mark Van Doren, the noted literary scholar, once remarked, "The college is meaningless without a curriculum, but it is more so when it has one that is meaningless." Many current critics of undergraduate curricula in America assent to the crucial need for programmatic renewal in our colleges and universities. They bemoan the cookie-cutter…

As the new English Language Arts Common Core State Standards take hold across the United States, the need grows for pre-service and in-service teachers to be ready to develop curriculum and instruction that addresses their requirements. This timely, thoughtful, and comprehensive text directly meets this need. It delineates a literacy practices and…

The study reported in this volume adds to the growing body of evaluation studies that focus on the use of NSF-funded Standards-based high school mathematics curricula. Most previous evaluations have studied the impact of field-test versions of a curriculum. Since these innovative curricula were so new at the time of many of these studies, students…

"The Core Knowledge Sequence (CKS) is a consensus-based model of specific content guidelines that, when used as the basis of about 50% of a school's curriculum, can provide a solid, coherent foundation of learning for students in the elementary grades." An introductory section discusses the CKS, its implementation, profiles of the CKS at…

The reputed merits of the interdisciplinary curriculum movement are explored in this collection of works by leading educators. Context is laid out in the introduction, "When Theory Meets Practice in the World of School," by Pam Grossman, Sam Wineburg, and Scott Beers. The chapters are as follows: (1) "On Disciplinary Lenses and…

This two-part essay is a critical look at the core curriculum in the American college: a diagnosis and call for action. Several assumptions are made: that the college curriculum is a living and evolving part of human culture (and conversely, that it is not value-free); that higher education has value beyond the functions of socialization and…

From the perspective of constitutional law, this volume reconciles the conflicting claims of educational reformers who demand a curriculum for national unity and those who call for multiculturalism. The first part of the book describes the educators' opposing views about core curriculum and the century-long history of the debate. The second part…

This book examines the practice of nutrition instruction as part of medical education, reports on a study of its practice, describes nutrition education in the past, argues for greater attention to the topic and describes current practice. Chapter 1 (an executive summary) highlights the major findings and recommendations resulting from the study…

A group of papers concerning English language syllabus design for general education curricula developed for a symposium on that topic includes an introduction on the definition and function of syllabuses by Christopher Brumfit, and a paper providing a review and discussion of terminology, background to the discussion, and current views on the…

The range of controversies and changes emerging from the current revival of general education are examined, and many ideas, examples, and recommendations for achieving realistic and successful curricular reform are offered. Instead of either offering an apology for general education or advocating any particular approach, the book draws on solid…

The genesis of Harvard's new Core Curriculum, which resulted in major changes in the university's general education program in the 1970s, is presented in a candid account. The narrative highlights the contest of conflicting beliefs about the ends and means of undergraduate education, and reveals the strategies employed to resolve conflicts and to…

In response to some educators' advocacy of a return to a "core curriculum" (a specific set of courses required by all degree-bound college students), this book maintains that the simple acquisition of broad-based knowledge is not the solution to the complex and difficult problems in higher education today. It presents views of the "educated…

The five chapters in this monograph discuss current issues in general education. Chapter I examines the weakness of general education programming, comparing general education to a spare room that has no agreed upon function. Chapter II notes the recent surge of interest in general education; examines the variety of social and educational problems…

The strongest possibilities for reforming the social studies curriculum lie with those professionals who actually work with children in the schools and on whom the burden of curriculum implementation rests--local curriculum planners and teachers. Successful local social studies curriculum development is an art. There are essentially three matters…