The University of Montreal's interdisciplinary curriculum policy was studied to (1) determine the range of opportunities given to students to take courses outside their disciplines; (2) assess the students' responsiveness; and (3) measure the ability of departments to attract nonmajor students. Results indicate that over-specialization still…

Ephebiatrics, a new specialty in adolescent medicine, is discussed. Suggestions are made to help young patients establish a doctor-patient relationship. (TA)

Pediatric practitioners at the University of Colorado have been involved in evaluation procedures using standardized interviews scored by a formal objective rating system to measure interviewing skills. Results indicate that students greatly benefited from a practice-oriented interviewing course. (Author/LBH)

Investigated DIALOG's RANK command to generate a list of prominent authors in biodiversity for use in cocitation studies. Concluded that RANK did not retrieve a quality set because highly cited authors of general texts presented a misaligned picture of specialization. Suggests that limiting citations to journal articles would present a more…

This article examines evidence both for and against early specialization in the development of sports expertise and presents the early diversification approach as another path leading to elite levels of performance. It discusses sports dropout and questions the link between early sports specialization and exceptional sports performance. (Contains…

States that intractable problems' many of which were specific to increasing specialization within individual disciplines, accompanied knowledge expansion in the West. Suggests interdisciplinary training as a solution to fragmentation. Points out that Chinese scholars have not seen specialization as a problem, and contends that they should consider…

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Division of General Internal Medicine is described, focusing on personnel and organization, educational programs, clinical and research activities, special programs, finances, and related issues and pressures. The program is proposed as a model for other institutions. (MSE)

A study of the supply and demand for doctoral graduates in all areas of special education compared the number of recent graduates with position announcements appearing in a major professional publication. Results suggest demand may soon exceed supply. In one area, communication disorders, supply has consistently exceeded demand. (MSE)

A case study of Boston (Massachusetts) public schools shows how specialization and fragmentation of teaching resources reduced the individual attention most students received and limited a school's flexibility to respond to student needs. The analysis develops three measures as possible indicators of the opportunity for freeing teacher resources.…

A longitudinal study of 175 students entering the University of Maryland Medical School in 1982 found initial specialty preference a poor predictor of later specialty choice, and intolerance of ambiguity was not significantly associated with either initial medical specialty preferences or choices at graduation despite dramatic specialty changes…

In the 1900s, emphasis on specialization, technical studies, and vocation that has undermined liberal education generally has taken a particular toll on civic education, departing from the ideal of education for the public interest. The college curriculum can incorporate education for participation in government in a variety of ways. (MSE)

Increasingly, college textbooks written to the specifications of individual professors are being produced on demand by custom publishers, often prepared very quickly to contain up-to-date information. Students prefer them to photocopied packets of readings. The trend is a reaction to the emergence of information-on-demand computer networks. (MSE)

A longitudinal study of students (n=70) entering Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire) in 1984 found attitudes toward family practice initially positive and improving. However, of 25 indicating early interest in family medicine, only 6 chose a related residency. Student concerns about the specialty's demands are seen as a possible factor.…

Discusses a report by the Task Force on the Political Science Major. Focuses on the tension between the purpose of liberal learning and the nature of political science as a discipline in the modern sense. Questions the possibility of rejecting the goal of civic education while still equipping students to cope. (DK)

Integration is suggested to handle faculty specialization and fragmentation in higher education. First, however, the roots and processes of specialization and fragmentation must be analyzed beginning with relationships among professionalization, problem setting, and paradigmatic communities. An analytical frame of reference emphasizes…