This report contains tabular summaries based on data collected from the Survey of High School Curricular Options. The national survey was conducted in response to the growing controversy over the implications that curriculum differentiation, or tracking, has for American school children. The tables present statistics on the policies and practices…

The Moraine Area Career System (MACS) Tech Prep Applied Academics Core project was undertaken to develop a written replicable model core of applied academics for selected vocational-technical programs that would emphasize Illinois goals for learning and technical content (including critical and computer literacy). A tech prep advisory council…

A study identified what competencies secondary trade and industrial (T&I) instructors from Central Pennsylvania believed technology education should provide. A total of 33 instructors of 49 surveyed responded to a questionnaire developed from Pucel's (1992) categories of technology education and work attitudes as identified by Gregson (1991).…

The Fordham Foundation commissioned experts in each of the five core academic subjects (English, history, geography, mathematics, and science) to develop criteria for excellence and apply them to as many state standards as could be obtained. This summary report compiles the numerical scores and letter grades that each state earned in every…

A study examined whether the core objectives were being met in an ethics course called "Values and Choice" at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. A student survey was developed by faculty representatives from each of the disciplines offering a core course meeting the "Values and Choice" requirement. Subjects were 212 students…

This paper discusses general education (GE) programs and compares course requirements at community colleges in the United States. Through a review of the literature, the author presents the rationale for three types of GE programs: (1) core curricula, the most prescribed type of GE, practiced only by 5% of four-year institutions; (2)…

Fragmentation in the learning process occurs when support programs evolve into self-contained instructional systems and lose sight of the original goal of improving performance in the core classroom program. The lack of planned coordination of instructional objectives results in "cognitive confusion" for students. The New York State…

This guidebook for curriculum planners reports on two specific aspects of the current wave of general education reform: the creation or revival of common or "core" courses within general-education curricula and the emergence of cultural complexity and multiplicity as organizing themes in these new, or newly revised, core programs. The book…

A cross-disciplinary project at the University of South Alabama has been successful in improving the technical competence of undergraduate writers in all academic fields. For the geography department, this project has involved developing courses which teach writing as part of the thinking process and problem-solving method. While instructors have…

In 1982, a committee was formed to review, evaluate, and adjust the liberal arts core curriculum of Hilbert College in New York State. After completing its initial review, the committee concluded that, while there was a general appreciation within the college community for the current liberal arts core, a sufficient integration of the various…

Education in the United States is currently in the midst of a crisis of purpose. Without a mission, the schools can operate both comprehensively and efficiently, but they cannot be effective. Because the schools cannot clarify what it is they are supposed to do, they can be asked to do whatever anyone wants them to do. With a clear mission, the…

Placing literature in the core of the curriculum, along with lots of writing and some listening and speaking activities, is a wonderful idea, one which most good English programs and teachers have always used, even through the electives and the back-to-basics periods of recent years. The gap lies in the teaching of writing, especially knowledge…

In the business community an understanding of the workings of government is essential. Most undergraduate business curricula do not include political science courses even though the subject can make major contributions to the student's education. Three areas of the business core would be particularly enriched by political science: organization…

This document is a decision-making tool on the instructional process in Mississippi. It attempts to standardize curriculum content by identifying core skills that must be included in subject areas in kindergarten through grade 12. Subjects covered are reading, English/language arts, mathematics, art, computer education, foreign languages, health…

Descriptions are provided of 57 projects that concern central disciplines in undergraduate education. The projects, which were funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, focus on: improving introductory courses (23), excellence in a field (15), and fostering coherence throughout an institution (19). Each project is described, and the…