The recognition of social work as a writing-intensive profession is the first step needed to bridge the divide between academic and practice writing. The demonstration of persuasive writing skills rarely achieves a highly-ranked social work curriculum priority despite the recognition by faculty that these skills are essential for effective…

In China, the latest version of the Senior High School Chemistry Curriculum (SHSCC) has been developed in response to social changes. This paper provides an account of the process and the product of the official document of this curriculum, "The Chemistry Curriculum Standards of Senior High School," with the purpose of exploring the way…

The seriousness of the readiness gap--the gap between being fully credentialed and fully prepared--is the reason why the Forum for Youth Investment started the Ready by 21 partnership and the reason why American Association of School Administrators (AASA) joined. Numerous organizations and associations interested in the K-12 system's end…

This paper discusses certain developments in education policy in the European Union since the implementation of the Lisbon strategy. Greater focus on lifelong learning as a means of increasing the competitiveness of the European Union, and establishment of several new, efficient policy tools (above all the "open method of coordination")…

Objective: The authors describe the development and implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's core competencies in a child and adolescent psychiatry residency program. Method: The authors identify the program's organizational approach and participants and detail various strategies and methods of defining,…

Critiques the first two volumes of E.D. Hirsch, Jr.'s Core Knowledge Series, "What Your 1st Grader Needs to Know" and "What Your 2nd Grader Needs to Know" (Doubleday, 1991), for thin coverage of core curriculum fundamentals, highly condensed format, and unbalanced content. Parents should realize there is no substitute for a…

The author agrees with Clyde Chitty (pp73-76 of this issue) that the current "options" system of English secondary education is inadequate for most pupils, but he rejects the Department of Education and Science's proposed common core curriculum as an inadequate and even potentially harmful alternative. (SJL)

At a Florida elementary school, the principal and teachers are piloting a curriculum of core knowledge developed over a four-year period by E.D. Hirsch, an advisory board, and a teacher/parent network. An appropriate core curriculum can provide all students with a foundation of knowledge for studying and appreciating the unique qualities of any…

This study evaluated the effects of problem-based learning (PBL) in social work education. The participants were 132 second-year social work students who took the core courses of Social Work Theory and Practice and Skills Laboratory in the PBL mode. A 40-item scale was used to measure the students' perceptions of their social work knowledge,…

The popular educational reform trend toward competency testing is appropriate to measure achievement in the basic skills areas, but competency testing in core curriculum areas may cause teachers to teach for the test, lead to minimal standards at the expense of excellence, and stifle the transfer of learning and creativity. (CB)

The author insists that a curriculum taught in common to all children will restore national cohesion, and he suggests as a fulcrum an education that enables students to feel secure in the physical, social, ethical, cultural, literary, and technological environments in which they live. (Editor)

A syllabus that shows the diversity of cultures should be the "core curriculum." A linear narrative of American history, a selection of significant periods and then a discussion of what was happening simultaneously in many places, and an attempt to dramatize the future are all suggested for a core curriculum. (MLW)

Points out the need for improving the nation's higher education curricula. Offers reasons for supporting a core curriculum and describes difficulties in developing such a program. Provides a summary of the National Endowment for the Humanities' report "50 Hours: A Core Curriculum for College Students." (KO)

The issues surrounding the age-old traditions of the English educational system and the new configurations of teaching and assessment that are emerging are described. A report ("A Language for Life"), prepared for the Department of Education and Science by a committee headed by Sir Alan Bullock, is summarized. (Author/MLW)

Defends the master's degree in library science from a program accredited by the American Library Association as a valid minimum educational requirement for library practice at the professional level. Issues that undermine this requirement are discussed and actions that the profession can take to strengthen this position are identified. (nine…