Higher education can resist the need to open the U.S. mind to greater cultural diversity by ignoring the changing ethnic composition of student bodies and larger society, or realize this opportunity to revitalize the social sciences and humanities with a new sense of purpose and more inclusive definition of knowledge. (MSE)

Multiculturalism is the best approach to helping higher education in the United States make the most of recent demographic changes. Multicultural curricular reform is the cornerstone to successful multicultural education. Isolationism by discipline, interest, or ethnic group, when temporary, is not intrinsically wrong but should be balanced with…

A discussion of the debate over multicultural education in colleges and universities looks at the evolution of the movement and examines some myths about it that threaten its effectiveness. An effective approach to multiculturalism is seen to have implications for institutional philosophy, structure, operations, and academic programs. Concrete…

The traditional college curriculum is seen as a collection of answers for students who do not yet have the questions; an alternative approach that nurtures students' capacities for inquiry is suggested and outlined. (MSE)

Points out the need for improving the nation's higher education curricula. Offers reasons for supporting a core curriculum and describes difficulties in developing such a program. Provides a summary of the National Endowment for the Humanities' report "50 Hours: A Core Curriculum for College Students." (KO)

This paper addresses the issue of defining the concept of core curriculum by first examining some of the literature on the subject, discussing why there is resistance to defining "core," citing common uses for the term "core curriculum," and exploring the historical roots of core curriculum. Next, the paper describes eight…

This paper describes certain fundamental realities and choices that planners and teachers of core curricula at the college level must take into account in order to devise programs of quality and integrity. Six common sense realities and the choices they demand are presented and discussed. First, core programs must avoid reducing the teaching and…

An overview is given of a study that examined the place of linguistics in undergraduate curricula in the United States and Canada, the nature and structure of the curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in linguistics, and the population served by the curriculum. The overview describes the project and its major activities (data collection and…

Linguistics, as one of the cognitive sciences, has much to offer the teaching of basic science, i.e., the teaching of how to ask and investigate interesting questions. Linguistics is particularly well-suited for teaching about the process of "doing" science because the methodology appropriate to the study of language from a generative…

A discussion of American Sign Language looks at its history in the context of deaf education and its increasing acceptance as a complete natural language both among linguists and in the college curriculum. (MSE)

The rise of faculty unions is analyzed as an outgrowth of quantitative changes in enrollment, curriculum, and administration in American higher education. The impact of unions on higher education is examined relative to member benefits, changes in governance, and implications for the educational process. (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…

Reports on a survey of 275 psychology departments on requirements for psychology majors, chairperson's opinions about psychology minors, and minor areas recommended for psychology majors. Finds strong support for minors in the psychology program to provide a more well-rounded education. (CFR)

There is an urgent need to bring values into the college curriculum. College human resources personnel are uniquely qualified to train college faculty and administrators in ethics and to assist in development of curricula in each discipline incorporating ethics. (MSE)

Swiss engineering education is detailed and the roles of public enterprise, society, industry, and the engineering profession are illustrated. Educational issues are discussed in an international context. (CW)