The release of the "Australian curriculum: Mathematics" has generated considerable debate in the education community. Some educators warn that this debate has centred on mathematical content and skills, setting the conditions for a "back to basics" movement in line with the political rhetoric that accompanied the national…

In each era of curriculum reform the prevailing perceptions of what the school curriculum must accomplish define the standard of cultural literacy for our society. E. D. Hirsch believes that contemporary youth lack cultural literacy and that without this knowledge of the fundamental facts of U.S. culture they cannot effectively read or…

Established in 1973, a progressive Charlotte, North Carolina, elementary school has been subjected to trends and pressures (particularly the back-to-basics and direct- instruction movements) that threatened its integrity and survival. Irwin Avenue must cover citywide academic objectives, but organizes its curriculum around themes and active,…

The Integrating Studies Program at Vermont College was designed not only to help students master the dictates of established disciplines, but also to inquire about the nature of knowledge. As such, it reflects the growth of the general studies movement and that movement's desire to restore the bond between education and character-formation. The…