The article reviews a recent report of the Task Group on Assessment and Testing under the 1988 Education Reform Act (Great Britain) as it applies to students with special educational needs. Concerns are raised regarding the detail of planning, language content, and the way progression is to be demonstrated. (DB)

Discusses how three states are implementing the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, focusing on Massachusetts' Common Core of Learning, Delaware's First Schools in the First State pilot curriculum project, and Oregon's Initial Mastery and Advanced Mastery certificates. Notes that one of the aims of Goals 2000 is to make states true laboratories of…

Briefly reviews the development of core curricula and interdisciplinary teaming in junior high/middle schools from the mid-1950s to the present. A recent study of 15,000 Maine eighth graders shows that schools using the middle-school, interdisciplinary approach outscored their junior high school peers enrolled in single-discipline subjects by 58…

America 2000 tries to advance both student achievement and educational freedom (through school choice). Its newly formulated learning standards and achievement tests could benefit children of all regions and backgrounds. America 2000 will strengthen all citizens' future by creating a national mechanism for quality control. (11 references) (MLH)

Discusses the contemporary university in Canada, focusing on Allan Bloom's "The Closing of the American Mind" which analyzes problems in today's education. The paper calls Bloom's book an unrivaled diagnosis of the impasse of the university, and it examines Bloom's relativistic principles. (SM)

The enrollment growth of Japanese language courses in U.S. K-12 classrooms has resulted in a strain on delivery systems due limited teacher training programs, materials, and standardized tests. A new Johns Hopkins/College Board project to develop a national curricular framework is described. (LB)

Notes changes in the past decade in the field of public relations. Proposes four new required core competencies for all undergraduate public-relations majors in programs housed in journalism/mass-communication units. Articulates these regarding appropriate outcomes, pedagogies, and assessment methods. Notes special considerations for small,…

Offers three models for educating future public-relations practitioners from a communication point of view: a macro-approach that integrates outcomes, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment at the program level; a micro-approach that adds specifics of outcomes, pedagogy, and assessment strategies for each of five core course-content areas; and a…

An examination of the National Curriculum in England and Wales illustrates the possibilities for implementing a U.S. program that maintains two languages. A better approach is to require proficiency in two languages as part of a core curriculum. Second-language ability would become a strength, not a liability. (33 references) (MLH)

Not just computers, technology is the product of human imagination, inventiveness, and creativity that has defined the iron, industrial, and information ages. Technology education is a core subject that provides fundamental understandings to build future citizens, family members, consumers, and workers. The United States has been slow to develop…

Examines changes that have been occurring in library and information science (LIS) programs. Topics include changes in library school names; core competencies; curriculum changes; the KALIPER Project, which is investigating LIS curricular changes; distance learning; degrees; and a ranking of the best LIS programs. (LRW)

Examines the increasing importance of languages in the new core curriculum, which emphasizes a global approach in business education. Identifies pitfalls in the internationalization of curricula, challenges to teacher preparation, and limits to cross-campus linkages. Illustrates strategies for modernization using an example of changing…

An introductory psychology course integrates subject content with other disciplines in multimedia presentations. Comparison of large multimedia and small lecture classes showed that multimedia instruction was effective in teaching large classes without eroding motivation, enabling students to make connections. (SK)

Reviews the literature on library and information literacy and describes the development of an undergraduate core course on library and information skills at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The bibliographic instruction component is explained, and assessment of the course after the first year is discussed. (Contains 12 references.) (LRW)

Recounts the history of general education requirements as developed at the University of Chicago by President Robert Hutchins, and the subsequent, much protested, relaxation of those stringent requirements in the 1990s. Suggests that each generation of educators must find the proper balance between traditional requirements and external forces and…