This study examines patterns of literacy instruction in schools adopting three of America's most widely disseminated comprehensive school reform (CSR) programs (the Accelerated Schools Project, America's Choice, and Success for All). Contrary to the view that educational innovations seldom affect teaching practices, the study found large…

There is a cross-national trend towards unified curriculum and qualifications frameworks in upper secondary education, but such reforms face epistemological, political and institutional barriers and "unification" remains a contested issue in many countries, including England. This article examines the experience of the Scottish Higher…

Science and mathematics curricula have undergone major changes in the United States during the past 30 years. Many of the science courses developed and implemented in the 1960s were expensive, difficult, and too theoretical for students. Mathematics curricula suffered similar problems. Indonesia's 1994 curriculum-reform effort can learn from these…

This report explores three models for the relation of literacy to larger curricular concerns: a Skills Model, an Instrumental Model, and an Inquiry Model. The paper suggests that after two decades of intense research on reading, a number of teachers and researchers are beginning to ask whether a narrow focus on reading distorts the view of…

This study sought to: (1) investigate the degree to which course content on elder abuse and neglect is a part of higher education curriculums in aging; (2) determine which specific elder abuse and neglect course content is included in required and elective coursework; and (3) describe the attitudes of instructors toward including elder abuse and…

Through a review of the training of medical professionals, similarities can be identified as well as interesting possibilities for the preparation of education professionals. Described is a medical school curriculum over its 4-year duration. The first year's focus is basic science; the second year's is clinical introduction, and the final 2 years…

Official curriculum thinking in the United Kingdom is at odds with one individual's understanding of contemporary curriculum theory and contemporary curriculum practice. An exposition of the reasons underlying this is explored. Assumptions about the linearity of teaching and learning (that seem to be contained in the official curriculum) are not…

The typical approach to curriculum in the English language arts fits well with the traditional, content-centered approach to instruction. Such an approach to curriculum, however, is appropriate to a pedagogy that construes knowledge as fixed and transmittable but inappropriate to a pedagogy that views learning as constructed by the learner rather…

This literature review is the first phase of an extensive review of curriculum reform in science, mathematics and higher order thinking across the disciplines. The first of eight sections is an executive summary addressing the major themes of the document. The second section deals with several general issues of curricular reform concerning…

Indicators that the prospects for meaningful curricular reform are not optimistic are developed in this paper. The first premise is that research on curricular reform has been limited in its applicability to practitioner concerns. Another dilemma in the translation of research on curricular reform for practitioners is the continuing wide gap in…

Analyzes results of a ten-nation study of literature education in terms of three different "deep structures" or basic approaches to literature curricula. Analysis of responses reveals significant national differences in curricular deep structures and indicates that agreement between student and teacher responses increases as students'…

In order to rate the importance of elements involved in a public relations curriculum, a study analyzed the responses of public relations educators from all academic associations teaching the subject as well as practitioners from all specializations. Questionnaires were sent to 544 people who rated 110 elements as not essential to essential on a…

The implicit power of modern communications technologies to improve citizenship education is explored in this paper. The relationship between the use of educational technology and the effectiveness of social studies instruction are only beginning to be studied, and these inquiries have been focused more upon the "harder" science…

The relevance of testing to curriculum is measured by the closeness of fit between test items and major program objectives. In this paper two procedures for analyzing the curriculum/test overlap are compared. The first method obtains a detailed analysis of a priority area of the curriculum. The process brings the curriculum into alignment with the…

This paper focuses on the changes in power and control relations in the Swedish society as they relate to issues of curriculum theory and research. Two issues in particular are discussed: (1) why Marxist research is still necessary and to what purpose; and (2) some current taks and problems for Marxist research on curriculum and schooling. (SI)