To date, music has played a relatively minor role in U.S. schools. Current research has uncovered findings about the value of music study and its relationship to academic achievement. Music instruction is a powerful tool that educators can use to promote academic achievement and mental discipline. Music deserves a place alongside the core subjects…

Content analysis of 64 college clothing-and-textiles programs found only four courses required by at least 50%: basic construction, costume history, textiles, and social/cultural/psychological aspects of clothing. These courses may constitute a core curriculum for the program area. (SK)

Implementation of the Core Knowledge Sequence in 12 various schools across the United States is evaluated. Interviews and focus groups with teachers and principals reveal the nature of the reform program, local context, systemic and policy level forces, and the capacity for change impact on the implementation process. (MMU)

Describes how what happens in the most elite institutions of higher education in the United States creates the body of knowledge and attitudes by which most colleges are judged. Among the issues for which this phenomenon is apparent are those of grade inflation, graduation rates, and core curricula. (SLD)

Outlines the concept of core competence and applies it to postcompulsory education in the United Kingdom. Adopts an educational perspective that suggests accreditation as the core competence of universities. This economic approach suggests that the market trend toward lifetime learning might best be met by institutions developing a core competence…

Examines 32 top-ranked Masters of Business Administration programs. Finds that management communication is an important part of professional graduate management education: 18 of the schools have required core courses in communication, and 2 others follow an integrated model and offer electives; another 9 offer electives only. Finds that only 3…

Historical analysis of the process of structuring Korean elementary education under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, including Korean efforts to expand the scope of elementary education. Discusses characteristics of common-school curriculum during the period. Reviews unintended and unexpected consequences of Japan's colonial education.…

Despite government rhetoric, higher education lecturers and schoolteachers in the UK remain under pressure to focus on standards and measurement in the core curriculum at the relative expense of a wider and more creative education. This article argues that the balance needs redressing and explores the nature of creative teaching in the context of…

Each of the four core composition units discussed in this paper presents its own set of challenges to both student and teacher. As writing teachers at mid-sized state universities, the authors offer four pedagogical approaches to exploring student identity through composition, literature, and rhetoric. One of the main goals is to allow new…

With the dramatic growth of environmental science as an elective in high schools over the last decade, educators have the opportunity to realistically consider the possibility of incorporating environmental science into the core high school curriculum. Environmental science has several characteristics that make it a candidate for the core…

The proportion of high school students completing a challenging core curriculum rose significantly between 1990 and 2005--from 31 percent to 51 percent--and students are doing better in their classes than their predecessors did. However, that good news is tempered by other findings in two federal reports. The performance of high school seniors on…

"The Core Knowledge Sequence (CKS) is a consensus-based model of specific content guidelines that, when used as the basis of about 50% of a school's curriculum, can provide a solid, coherent foundation of learning for students in the elementary grades." An introductory section discusses the CKS, its implementation, profiles of the CKS at…

This resource guide is an annotated bibliography of books and other print sources relevant to the content specified in the Core Knowledge Sequences for grades 1 through 6, which are curricular guidelines published by the Core Knowledge Foundation. Entries are organized by subject area and grade level. Within each grade and subject area, entries…

''Why four semesters? How does this track differ from the two-semester course sequence?'' These are the most common questions students have when they learn about the Biology Core Curriculum (Biocore), a unique four-semester honors biology sequence at University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). Biocore was first taught at University of Wisconsin…

A consideration of basic acting courses for college students not majoring in theatre. (CH)