The curriculum includes educational activities that determine the struggle for survival and sustainability of a university's departments. Approaches that seek more flexible solutions and have a post-positivist understanding are needed to manage this system. One of these approaches is action research, first used by Kurt Lewin (1946) to solve social…

This chapter is a case study examining the symbiotic relationship among an Arts and Sciences mathematics department, a school of education, and a large urban public school district, as a context for the development of pedagogical content knowledge in the curriculum. Specifically, Hunter College, CUNY, has a long-standing master's program in…

Significant challenges to education transformation in lecture-oriented science departments include initiating and supporting a dialogue about teaching and learning among faculty whose priorities are primarily research. The authors established a faculty learning community through which participants made significant changes to how they think about…

We analyze and study the beginning of a new Electrical Engineering Department, supported by an NSF Departmental Level Reform award, within a new College of Engineering in the 21st Century and also describe the academic approach and influences of an innovative cognitive-based approach to curriculum development. In addition, the approach taken…

The defining task for undergraduate departments is the design of a major, including the number and content of courses as well as other requirements. Department members must weigh the desire to produce graduates superbly prepared for further study against the charge that the major requires too large a share of an undergraduate's course options.…

Little attention has been paid in composition journals and professional conferences to the practical problems associated with a writing program director's efforts to introduce an innovative composition curriculum within a traditional English department. A collaborative, problem solving approach to curriculum change is a practical way to proceed…

The coordinator role is being increasingly used to provide curricular leadership in both primary and secondary schools. This article analyzes difficulties and unintended consequences that can emerge when a low-key management approach is adopted. "Low-key" sometimes translates to low visibility, recognition, and status, which can…

This publication is designed to show how computers can be used effectively in secondary school mathematics curricula. Section I provides a description of the various types of software that could be incorporated into the secondary school mathematics curriculum. Procedures for evaluating the software and using it in a classroom or laboratory…

Of the 48 members of the Commonwealth, 28 have a population of under 2 million. This handbook is intended for senior personnel in ministries of education in small states, including those with responsibility for the management of personnel, finance, and physical resources. Major themes related to educational administration in small states are…

Discusses curriculum changes needed in elementary and secondary schools in response to broader social change involved in the information revolution. Highlights include the role of federal, state, and local agencies, private industry initiatives, the role of technology, and the importance of problem solving skills. Twenty-five references are…

In 1992 the Utah State Office of Education initiated a review of recent literature on performance assessment as a step in establishing the foundation of the Utah State Core Curriculum Performance Assessment Program. Profiles Corporation conducted the review of the literature and contacted educators in all 50 states regarding the current state of…

Difficulties experienced by Wilkes College (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) as a result of declining enrollments and shifts in student majors, and the resolution of differences between the administration and the faculty, are described in an essay. Related revision of institutional mission and peer-evaluation procedures are also discussed in an article…

Twelve national reports on the current state of education in the United States are summarized. Summaries include identification of the theme of the report; major recommendations; implications for schools, colleges, and departments of education; and government and institutional responsibilities in funding and administration. The following reports…

In 1983, the Ohio State Board of Education responded to the public's expectations for schools by adopting minimum standards requiring competency-based education in mathematics on a 5-year cycle, of each school district's competency-based education program; and to publish an annual report on competency-based education in Ohio. This document is the…