This book addresses issues relevant to the development of a coherent curriculum. A "coherent" curriculum is one whose parts are unified and connected by a sense of the whole. Following the foreword by Arthur W. Steller and the prologue by James A. Beane, the introduction (1) by James A. Beane raises a number of questions related to the search for…

Initiatives to integrate engineering design within the field of technology education are increasingly evident. The National Science Foundation has encouraged and funded opportunities for technology educators and engineers to work collaboratively. However, perspectives regarding the role engineering should play within the discipline of technology…

Curriculum organization, particularly in the secondary school, should provide for continuity, sequence, and integration of knowledge. There are five basic schemes of organization discussed in this article. (Author/WD)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, "The History Teacher" published several articles on the importance and process of integrating women's history into "regular history." Now, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, the author suggests to add a new perspective as to how teachers think about and teach gender in the classroom.…

Many anthropologists believe that anthropology stands to gain from devoting greater attention to history and historical questions. A successful synthesis of anthropology and history would not be difficult to achieve for several reasons. First, the two disciplines share fundamentally similar subject matters. Anthropology is the exploration of the…

In this article Tortora, a dance therapist, interviews Myron Hofer, director of the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Columbia University. Dr. Hofer has spent decades studying how the mother's behaviors and actions shape and regulate the physiological, neurophysiological, and psychological functioning of her babies--specifically,…

This article argues for the compatibility of vocational purposes with the aims of schooling within the liberal tradition. Two main grounds will be offered in defence of this position. In the first place, school students who are following a track that leads to direct employment or to vocational training are not necessarily excluded from a…

At Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut, a small group of faculty created three interdisciplinary courses with the belief that they would assist students in developing more finely honed critical thinking skills. One course is in the hard sciences, another in the social sciences, and another in the humanities. This paper discusses the…

This paper details the benefits of interdisciplinary studies, with particular focus on the Humanities Enrichment Program at the Community College of Philadelphia. The program uses a team-teaching, linked-course paradigm. Two courses from different disciplines are aligned, and faculty from each discipline teach the linked courses as humanities…

Reviews the basic structure of unified studies, which includes ideas and philosophies common to science/technology/society (STS), holistic education, and integrated/transdisciplinary education as an STS organizing principle for elementary teacher preparation. (MKR)

Articles for developing an integrated secondary curriculum are presented in this book. The articles include: "Synthesis Versus Fragmentation: The Way Out of Curriculum Confusion," by Daniel Tanner; "The Interrelated Curriculum," by Steven S. Means; "Integrated Teaching and Learning in Essential Schools," by Richard Lear; "Interdisciplinary Teaming…

Examines educators' preoccupation with aims and objectives and the impact of product-oriented education on school and curriculum organization. Considers alternative view which defines education as a lifelong process of helping people make sense of the world in which they live. Lists nine characteristics of process-oriented curriculum. (LFL)

This paper recounts development of a community college humanities course titled Human Rights/Human Wrongs: The History, Philosophy, Law, Art, and Literature of the Human Rights Movement. The author argues that a special focus, interdisciplinary course provides a broader base for exploring and understanding most of the pressing issues of our time.…

Argues that social studies is an academic discipline in its own right. Only through an interdisciplinary social science approach can students understand societies and social problems in their true complexity. Suggests creation of a true secondary social studies will require reform in secondary school curriculum and social studies teacher…

A task force of community and junior college representatives defined and tested the hypothesis that study of the humanities offers students a way to develop certain skills and attitudes including working with others, solving problems, making decisions, and adapting to changes in the workplace. (JOW)