Education in design shares with other disciplines a number of perennial challenges, including the need to transfer human culture, the choice of what parts of human culture to transfer and the decision as to what approaches work best in accomplishing that transfer. Design education also faces particular challenges, which are shared with only a few…

Competence in humanities may be considered in terms of knowledge (the mental processing of information), thinking skills (the organization of knowledge), communication skills, and personal integration (the effect of knowledge upon the individual). Specific competencies to be acquired in an interdisciplinary twentieth century humanities course…

An extensive study of humanities education in the nation's public schools, commissioned by the United States Congress, concludes that history, literature, and languages are inadequately taught, and most students fail to learn important knowledge about their shared past and culture. Data from a nation-wide survey reveal gross ignorance of major…

In 1983-84, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges developed and field tested an instrument, the General Academic Assessment (GAA) student survey, to assess community college students' knowledge in several liberal arts areas, including the humanities. The GAA was completed by a sample of 8,024 students at four large, urban community…

Discusses the tendency of universities to focus on the disciplinarity of the humanities as opposed to promoting interdisciplinary connections within the field. Argues for interdisciplinarity instead in order to reinvigorate university humanities programs and provide students with the knowledge they need. Warns against improperly practicing an…

Perspectives concerning "research about research" are summarized, based on symposia sponsored by the University of Goteborg in Sweden. It is noted that studies of science, technology, and society (STS) are prevalent in several countries during the 1970s. Based on visits to STS programs in the United States, it is suggested that there are…

Addresses some of the results from the Funding For Results (FFR) program at Missouri Western State College that introduced specific Internet searches and communication of the results of that student research. Explains that the FFR's instructional interventions may be of interest to teachers of introductory courses especially in the humanities.…

This summary for administrators describes the Cultural Literacy Test, which is designed to help monitor students' progress in attaining essential general knowledge and to serve as a rational means for assessing education in one of its most important dimensions: the achievement of functional literacy. Summary topics include test development,…