Efforts to renew cultural literacy and reform arts education sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Getty Center for Education in the Arts suggest fundamental changes relating to the scope of art curricula. The single greatest drawback of existing art curricula and the guides that teachers use is the emphasis on skill development…

One of the most neglected aspects of teacher training is thorough preparation in the diverse communication skills that are needed by good teachers in today's schools. Pre-professional teachers require a grounding in communication theory, a thorough knowledge of how children acquire competence in their native language over years of growth and…

This digest summarizes the essential aspects of Myrick's Teacher Advisor Program (TAP) concept, discussing: (1) why schools need a teacher advisor program; (2) whether teachers are qualified to provide counseling; (3) what a teacher advisor program would involve; (4) what should be included in a guidance curriculum; (5) the counselor's role in…

Prior to the advancement of western education, Liberia had a system of indigenous education, taught by chiefs and respected village elders, and designed to perpetuate the Liberian culture. Formal or western education was introduced in 1830 when the Board of Managers of the American Colonization Society passed a resolution and later passed a public…

This paper attempts to identify critical variables for designing training programs in early childhood special education. A literature review is presented on training and the adult learner. Important characteristics of training are identified, such as the course design, sequence, content, and adult learning strategies used. Other significant…

A framework for curriculum design and a set of guidelines for curriculum development in gifted education are presented. The major dimensions guiding curriculum development for gifted students are: content, process, product, and learning environment. Curriculum content should be developed in such a way that it becomes more abstract, complex,…

An undergraduate psychology course (Models of Human Behavior) that is taught at New Orleans's Loyola University is described. The survey-type course emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding human behavior and spans several major orientations in Western intellectual thought regarding human behavior. The course is intended to…

A model for Continuous-Integrated-Sequential (C/I/S) curricula for social studies education is presented. The design advocated involves ensuring continuity of instruction from grades K-12, an integration of social studies disciplines, and a sequential process of refining and reinforcing concept and skills from grade-to-grade along the K-12…

There is a need in Japan to develop upper-level secondary schools to meet the demands of Tokyo's special characteristics as an international city with a large population of foreigners and citizens who travel and are employed for periods of time overseas. There also is a need to ensure smooth entry of children into the schools upon reentering the…

In designing a social studies curriculum, teachers and administrators need to consider issues of scope and sequence. Scope refers to the ways in which the content of various units taught in the social studies curriculum are fashioned. Sequence refers to the order in which these units are taught. An examination of the following guidelines is…

The implementation and evaluation of the effects of a seven-period day on students and teachers, especially on student achievement, is the purpose of this study. A three-part methodology includes two applications of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to teachers; administration of the School Attitude Survey (SAS) to students and teachers;…

An analysis of the cultural and historical context in which curriculum decisions are made in Australia and a comparison with educational assumptions in the United States is the purpose of this paper. Methodology is based on personal teaching experience and observation in Australia. Seven factors are identified upon which curricular decisions in…

This digest focuses on the articulation of foreign language programs between secondary and higher education. The following questions are addressed: (1) What are urgent reasons for better program articulation?; (2) What forms does articulation take?; (3) What aspects of the educational process does articulation address?; (4) Are there examples of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether parents were more likely to purchase home computers for sons than for daughters, and whether elementary and secondary students reflect sex differences in their attitudes toward computer use. The survey instrument was constructed to provide face validity in order to investigate whether computer…

A discussion of the relationship of second language course content and testing focuses on the instruction and assessment of language proficiency. Basic principles of measurement of proficiency and syllabus design for proficiency and their implications are examined. An approach is recommended to syllabus design that has the learner's real needs at…