The impact of an undergraduate course on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was studied. Results of a post-test, completed by 352 students (including 96 controls), suggested that the course had a beneficial impact on knowledge, attitudes, and behavior relevant to the transmission of AIDS. Implications for AIDS education are discussed. (SLD)

Traces the history of the debate over the definition of liberal education and the extent to which education should be liberal. Contrasts the position of Aristotle with those of his teachers, and of later theorists, including John Dewey, Mortimer Adler, Robert Maynard Hutchins, Allan Bloom, and E. D. Hirsch. (DMM)

Six studies of general education are described. A Penn State survey details changes in general education requirements over 15 years. UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute used the college catalog to furnish information about curricular dimensions and others attempt to determine the effects of general education. (MLW)

Explores John Dewey's contributions to the recent debate over the role of the classics in the college curriculum. Argues a "modified Deweyan solution" advocating flexibility in the selection and study of classic texts. (FMW)

A sex-education course that critics claim went too far has embroiled Nassau Community College in a debate over what constitutes academic freedom and who controls the curriculum. The controversy also raised questions about whether state freedom-of-information laws should apply to educational documents and other classroom materials. (MLW)

A Kent State University (Ohio) course on the sociology of gays and lesbians has attracted both criticism and high enrollments. Most students are women; many are heterosexual. The course focuses on the history of the gay rights movement and theories of the basis of homosexuality. (MSE)

The current discipline-based organizational structure of the college curriculum in which general education is treated as an isolated learning experience should be replaced with a more integrated curriculum. In addition, general education should take different forms in institutions with different missions. Such a curriculum redesign could help…

Traces the roots of the concepts of the humanities and liberal arts education to the ancient Greeks, describing how their customs, language, philosophy, and literature have contributed to current concepts of education. Suggests that the Greek idea of education stressed the arts and mathematics but was opposed to all professionalism. (MAB)

Considers the various educational roles that community colleges have played in attempts to be democratizing institutions and their success in fulfilling these roles. Advocates structured, sequential education in college-level courses, and the development of action agendas focusing on college identity, financing, accountability, scholarship, and…

Challenges encountered in developing and maintaining an extensive evaluation program at Ohio State University are retrospectively reconstructed. The setting, the history of program development, and the nature of the program are described as a backdrop for discussion of six issues with implications for program development. (SLD)

Examines the theoretical, philosophical and practical background of tourism and how it relates to the placement of tourism education within the curriculum of postsecondary institutions. Although tourism education is rapidly growing, research related to these programs and their placement within the curriculum are virtually nonexistent. As tourism…

College students must learn the subject matter and conventions of their majors but must also become part of a larger knowledge community to understand disciplinary processes and conventions from a broader perspective. Educators must take responsibility for helping students accomplish both these goals. (Author/MSE)

Based on reports of 10 disciplinary task forces concerning improvement of college instruction, it is suggested that faculty respond to suggestions for curricular change in ways that reflect their disciplinary perspectives. It is concluded that faculty from varied disciplines need thoughtful leadership to develop support for any common curricular…

For change in higher education to be effective, it is necessary to integrate three important current movements: curriculum development; instructional improvement; and college outcomes assessment. The problems prompting the movements are closely connected, and their solutions are interrelated. Faculty workload and reward system are related issues.…

Development of a more integrated and globally focused curriculum at Earlham College (Indiana) is chronicled, focusing on development of interdisciplinary cooperation; internationalization of the curriculum; use of visiting scholars; and redesign of study-abroad programs to incorporate predeparture orientation, a structured ethnographic or…