This symposium paper is concerned with curriculum theory and development and the place of curriculum theory within the area of instructional technology. It first identifies the central questions of curriculum (e.g., what should we teach?) and discusses the implications of the resulting issues: (1) why should we teach this rather than that? (2) who…

A study investigated higher education communication curricula in foreign countries to determine the status (program offerings, objectives and trends) of communication curricula throughout the world. Considering the difficulty in preparing a comprehensive international inventory, a modified "snowball technique" (involving a series of…

Recent research suggests that there may be systematic differences in instruction and learning associated with particular social studies subjects. The researchers question whether social studies instruction differs across the various subjects that constitute the social studies curriculum. If so, to what extent do these differences have…

This paper discusses the Broadcast Education Association's Model Curriculum Project and traces the attempts of the task force to develop national models. The focus of the paper is on mission statements, professional orientations of departments, and core courses. Though diversity is celebrated, the paper argues that model programs must grapple with…

This paper summarizes four reports that comprised a study of ways in which technical and further education (TAFE) curriculum research for curriculum development can be speeded up in the data collection and analysis phases. The reports are "TAFE Curriculum Research: A Review of Group Process Methods" (T. Anderson, N. Jones); "The…

A critique is presented of naturalistic inquiry as a scholarly activity or as an alternative research paradigm directed toward extending knowledge of physical education curriculum and instruction. Four questions are posed: (1) What is the value perspective of naturalistic inquiry? (2) What are the phenomena of interest? (3) What are the…

Defining curriculum design as a critically examined theoretical framework for developing curriculum, this document examines various decision-making processes of planning curriculum. Discussed are the importance of curriculum design, and attempts to examine four systems of curriculum thought, along with curriculum design currently available for…

The paper defines action research and what conception of theory might best contribute to its development. Action research is a continuous conscious attempt to seek increased meaning and direction in a teacher's relationship with students. Practical inquiry of teachers with their students is a form of educational research. A Masters Degree Program…

In order to explore the rhetorical components of instruction at the undergraduate level and determine whether differences and similarities exist among the discourse fields represented by instructors in the kind of talk which they regard as desirable in their classroom, formal interviews were conducted with teaching faculty representing l5…

This paper introduces a research series recently initiated to begin to describe and interpret curriculum as practiced and experienced at the classroom and individual student levels. Curriculum is defined as whatever a student learns. A multi-year series of studies is planned to combine naturalistic and survey methods to generate theories about how…

A communication model suggests that in almost all cases where dissemination and utilization of knowledge has taken place, one or more of seven general factors can be identified as having been active in aiding the phenomena. The proposed factors are: linkage, structure, capacity, openess, reward, proximity, and synergy. In order to use this model…

This report presents the results of a national survey of college and university writing program directors that was undertaken to provide reliable and current information about writing programs at the college level. The first chapter contains a discussion of the survey questionnaire and sample population. The next nine chapters report the responses…

This packet of questionnaires and guides is designed to garner information about public opinion concerning policy for guiding the National Institute of Education's (NIE) curriculum activities. The following questions are focused on: (1) How should NIE define "curriculum"? (2) Should NIE help develop new curricula? (3) Should NIE evaluate…

Some conclusions about curriculum development arising out of an experience in developing a social science program are summarized. The following topics are briefly presented: (1) what works best in the classroom and what is the most efficient way of attaining educational goals; (2) the necessary involvement of scholar consultants in social science…

A survey of college speech communication programs was conducted to determine the size and scope of the combined study of communication and law. Data from 117 of 200 randomly sampled institutions were used for analysis. A substantial majority of the institutions offered or were planning to offer courses concerned with the relationship between…