As early as the mid-1970s, William H. McNeill, the father of modern world history scholarship, warned that the pervasive tendency for faculty to pursue ever-narrowing specializations, combined with a widespread distaste for teaching survey courses, will be history's undoing. In his mind, without concerted pedagogical attention aimed at both…

The purpose of this article is to present early childhood educators, college pedagogical instructors and kindergarten teachers with the idea of using movement education activities as a means of teaching basic concepts in different disciplines. The programme consists of college courses that included the new approach (RRA--Role Reversal Approach) in…

This paper argues that the standard approach to teaching the history of political thought does not serve the ultimate goals of political theory education, and that alternative approaches are needed to make the history of thought appropriate for undergraduates. A history of political thought for life ought to enhance a person's capacity to act as a…

A graduate of a course in history's great ideas and the processes of thinking about them encourages the development of similar courses, arguing that important aspects of intellectual development are being ignored in the current college curriculum. (MSE)

The effects of pluralism on today's college campuses are intense. The place held by religion in this context is often awkward, but as a dimension of diversity and a potent force in human interaction, it deserves the same tolerance as any other aspect of pluralism and should not be trivialized. (MSE)

The future of pluralistic democracies depends not only on laws but on individuals within the societies. Different cultures bring different strengths and conceptions of self and community. By studying different cultures and discovering shared virtues, students can identify those contributing to high quality of life for human society. (MSE)

If higher education is to have a coherent curriculum and a coherent way of thinking about the world, it may need to study premodern ways of thinking for both insights and the courage to think in new ways. The tradition of the humanities, which originated in fifteenth-century Italy, can help. (MSE)

A typology of the vocational intent of various college courses, or the stated objectives and curricula of courses as they relate to specific occupational fields is proposed that makes distinctions about vocational specificity, selection for employment, and training for employment. (MSE)

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)

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)

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)

Cornell University (New York) was among the first to remove normative religious instruction and mandatory religious practice from their previous pervasiveness in higher education. This has removed from the university the responsibility for safeguarding the cultural authority of religion and allowed religion to enter the realm of ideas to be…

Theology deserves a place in the life of a university, as a subject of inquiry and as an area of scholarly interest in many disciplines, alongside more technical areas of study. Maintenance of democratic values requires the broad understanding that study of religion can help develop. (MSE)

This paper argues that separation of mathematics from most other disciplines in the college curriculum reinforces math avoidance among college students, and that this is inappropriate in general education. Ways in which mathematics and mathematical thinking can be integrated into the humanities are discussed, including the role of mathematics in…

The renaming of literature appreciation as cultural studies marks a rethinking of what is experienced as cultural materials, going beyond reading and writing to media, popular culture, newspapers, advertising, textbooks, and advice manuals. It also marks the movement away from the study of an object to the study of criticism. (MSE)