A ten-question survey instrument was used to measure teacher acceptance of vocational agriculture core curriculum materials in Nebraska. On a scale of one (poor) to ten (excellent), all 103 teachers who responded rated the core curriculum concept as 5 or higher, with 68 teachers scoring the core concept as 8 or higher. (LRA)

Describes the efforts of Californians for Better Schools through the Arts to make the arts basic to education, including their unsuccessful attempt to qualify the California Arts Initiative for the 1980 state ballot. The initiative would have made arts education mandatory in California's elementary and secondary schools. (SJL)

Describes the method by which the results of a survey of those community colleges in Illinois with electronics programs were used to determine a common core of subjects in electronics that would be acceptable statewide at the four-year college level. (AYC)

Outlines procedures, goals, and teacher preparation for New York University's expository writing program. Notes that the program's distinguishing features are that all freshmen are grouped according to their abilities for two semesters of composition instruction and that all undergraduates take a junior-year writing proficiency test. (RL)

Curriculum developers in agricultural education are designing and recommending that teachers teach a one- or two-year competency-based core curriculum to all students in agriculture/agribusiness. Specialized vocational agriculture programs are built on the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experiences developed by the core curriculum. (LRA)

The Richardson, Texas, Independent School District has expanded its physical education program through an off-campus cooperative program that permits students to obtain credit for participation in an instructional program with an approved off-campus facility. (JMF)

MACOS (Man: A Course of Study) is one of the few commercially produced curriculums used at Pine Hill High School (Ramah Navajo High School). The core of MACOS is the study of similarities and differences in the life cycles of various animals and people of various cultures. This article discusses how MACOS works in the context of Ramah. (NQ)

Documents the emergence of interdisciplinary curriculum organization patterns as viable alternatives to the subject-centered curriculum field in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. Early 20th-century approaches to the elementary curriculum included the project method, the experience curriculum, and the activity movement.…

Describes a middle school that features the study of the environment as the curriculum core; provides direct experiences with nature and cultural diversity; and uses local greenspaces, parks, and community resources as educational resources. Other activities include establishing historical and cultural gardens on the school grounds, growing native…

Describes Progressive Education Association's Eight-Year Study conceived in 1930 and published in 1942. Attempts to correct subsequent misconceptions and misinterpretations of the study's findings. (Contains 43 references.) (PKP)

Achievement of common core capabilities in the areas of human development, nutrition, management, design, the profession, educational principles, public policy, professional development, and computer literacy was measured for 3,791 entering and 2,156 exiting students. The 955 usable responses showed significant differences by major and a…

This article argues that liberal education instills a common understanding of past knowledge in students and warns against the pressures toward specialization. A core curriculum is recommended as a means of tying together various topics. (DB)

The article examines the controversy between traditionalists and multiculturalists in revising the literary canon, and advocates replacement of traditionalist assumptions of universalism in literature with recognition of the various identities of readers, especially in light of substantial bodies of work by minority writers. (DB)

Describes Utah Valley Community College's core course, "Ethics and Values," which approaches timely and interdisciplinary topics (e.g., abortion, and business ethics) and emphasizes writing, self-confrontation, oral discussion, and critical thinking. Reviews problems in promoting active student learning. Describes course content and the…

A survey of 160 Ohio high school production agriculture teachers received 126 responses indicating that (1) 68 percent are teaching most of the agriscience content areas; (2) most have positive attitudes toward agriscience; and (3) they are aware of state initiatives toward an agriscience core curriculum. (SK)