Despite efforts of both administration and faculty, the intent and the execution of new curricular initiatives are not always in alignment. To understand how the declaration of a campus-wide general education initiative was being implemented, this article combines analyses of syllabi and courses from across disciplines. In an initial review, the…

Linguistic diversity is part of Europe's DNA. It embraces not only the official languages of Member States, but also the regional and/or minority languages spoken for centuries on European territory, as well as the languages brought by the various waves of migrants. The coexistence of this variety of languages constitutes an asset, but it is also…

Media education has been around for quite some time in the West (Bazalgette et al. 1990), but it only started to gain acceptance in Asia (Cheung 2005), particularly in Hong Kong, in the last decade. Recently, it has been gaining more attention in Hong Kong thanks to the curriculum reform in which liberal studies will become one of the four core…

This essay discusses an approach to teaching religious studies in a general education or core curriculum that I have experimented with for the last decade, which I call the "Learning Covenant." The Learning Covenant brings together various pedagogical theories, including transformational, experiential, contract, and cooperative learning, in an…

The committee charged with reforming the current Core Curriculum of Harvard University has instead recommended a minimum distribution requirement for undergraduates: three courses in each of three fields. The Core Curriculum was adopted by Harvard in the 1970s with a view to ensuring that undergraduates be broadly educated in seven approaches to…

The teachers involved in the general education program in Boston University's College of Basic Studies have developed a cooperative approach to composition instruction that they consider a useful model of structure, cooperation, and experience for others in interdisciplinary teaching systems to follow. Their instructional approach contains these…

Considered a pioneer in the development of general education core curriculum programs for high school, Harold Alberty attempted to unify philosophy, curriculum, and method. A former student and colleague discusses Alberty's contributions to curriculum theory, and remembers his teaching style and techniques. (IAH)

Discusses the basic principles that shaped the development of Boston University's liberal arts core curriculum. Four areas are addressed: history, tradition, greatness, and relevance. Final comments examine the core experience for teacher educators and describe one professor's success at lessening time-killing human behavior in order to accomplish…

Although the nation's two-year college movement has been largely successful in providing higher education to a broad range of people, new barriers are emerging to the performance of this function. The problem is evident in the fact that increasing numbers of students neither enter nor leave the educational system with the competencies necessary…

To improve the quality of schooling, the Paideia Proposal calls for a single, required, 12-year course in general, humanistic learning, followed by any of three types of postsecondary institutions. The Paideia curriculum covers knowledge acquisition, intellectual development, and understanding of ideas but also requires improved, active teaching…

Draws on a theory of education for a Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) framework based on the structure of general education in modern educational systems. Shows that pedagogical research on school and instruction is formed by the relationship of instruction, didactics, curricular development, and achievement control. (CAJ)

STANDPOINTS, a model for general education which focuses on the common learning experiences crucial to the quality of personal and corporate life, was developed at Central YMCA Community College. When developing the model, time, faculty development, student involvement, and leadership constraints were recognized, and a three-phase process was…

As part of Bloomfield College's response to the conflict between a liberal arts tradition and careerism, with its attendant faculty, student, and curriculum problems, the Freshman Core Program was developed. One of the principle objectives of the program is to integrate liberal arts values with career education objectives. A set of four…

In addition to describing the traditional college curriculum and comparing historical moments in curriculum change in America, this history defines other historic dimensions: prescription versus free choice, general versus specialized education, elite versus egalitarian education, mass versus individualized instruction, autocratic versus…

This pamphlet is designed to help educators apply the core concept to current problems and situations in educational settings. The preface establishes the position of the National Association for Core Curriculum. A definition of the core curriculum concept is stated in the introduction. Ten assumptions and beliefs on which the core concept is…