Education in implementation science, which involves the training of health professionals in how to implement evidence-based findings into health practice systematically, has become a highly relevant topic in health sciences education. The present study advances education in implementation science by compiling a competence profile for…

In higher education, despite the emphasis on student-centred pedagogical approaches, undergraduate research methods pedagogy remains surprisingly teacher-directed. Consequently, it may lead to research methods students assuming that becoming a researcher involves gathering information rather than it being a continuous developmental process. To…

Why do the designers of environmental education do what they do towards the environment through education? More importantly, how do they account for their design decisions (plans and actions)? Using the theoretical and methodological framework of discourse analysis, we analyse environmental education designers' discourse in terms of the discursive…

Focuses on three foundational assumptions in postmodern thought, have implications for curriculum. Discusses the nature of open systems, the structure of complexity, and transformatory change. Argues that curriculum specialists could benefit from study of contemporary developments in the fields of biology, chemistry, cognition, literary theory,…

Discusses transformatory change in consciousness and the limitations of modern Western curricula. Considers hierarchicality, participating consciousness, a global systemic view, temporal balance, and reflexive awareness as aspects of a nonreductionist paradigm. Suggests that the rationalism now characterizing curriculum discourse inhibits a world…

This paper evaluates current practices in curriculum design and discusses some proposals for using efficient Fisherian experimental designs to remedy certain shortcomings in current practices. Two general questions are approached in this paper: (1) how to obtain rational and empirical evidence that a basic curriculum under planning and development…

Scientific Method rather than trial and error methods should be used to search for instructional algorithms. The Scientific Method is discussed with implications for this purpose. Suggested is the inclusion of theoretical and technological foundations in formulating instructional theory. Conditions needed for adequate instructional research are:…

Graduate programs for preparing curriculum scholars must address: the intellectual and social history of American education; major curriculum theories and concepts; curriculum and classroom analysis techniques; research skills; and ways to maintain an open mind. (CB)

Considers the rationale, value, and ethical issues for use of a particular action-research model for curriculum innovation. Describes the use of this approach in the implementation of an innovation concerned with differentiation of work in mixed-ability classes and the significance of findings for the action-research strategy. (DS)

Action research is a rigorous, systematic approach to clearly defining problems and specifying plans of action to improve curriculum. This paper examines the evolution of curriculum action research as a scientific enterprise, discusses key concepts of action research, and presents a practical model of the action-research process. (TE)

The process of curriculum development involves two phases: transformation of research findings into curriculum material by external developers and implementation of curriculum materials by teachers. In a study of the development of an eighth grade biology unit in Israel, the authors examined the characteristics of and relationships between the…

Advocates a quantitative sociological approach to measuring curriculum differentiation and its effects. Research should combine survey with observational methods to examine measures of track organization and instructional activities that are sensitive to organizational and instructional conditions that differ across schools. (Author/BJV)

Reviews studies that have examined curriculum packages, focusing on how school knowledge is ideologically structured and organized. Borrows from discourse analysis to develop a theoretical framework for investigating how knowledge and meaning-production can be influenced. Illustrates the framework's use to design and conduct a study of a physical…

The report investigates current practices and attitudes toward social education in twenty schools in Australia. Three different aspects of the curriculum--the ideal, the planned, and the operative--are reflected from viewpoints of the teacher, the student, and the outside observer. Particular attention is paid to the implications of the curriculum…

In a 6-month study of a small private school (Fielding) in central Virginia, seven participants in a curriculum practicum tested a research strategy for investigating the knowledge, skills, and attitudes fostered by a school's environment. Given the subjectivity of environmental influences, the team rejected scrupulous data collection to…