Quantification has traditionally been considered inconsistent with humanism, and humanists suffer from largely unarticulated fears about computer use in their discipines that prevent them from gaining the advantages of computers in humanities instruction. (MSE)

While recent reports on the improvement of college curricula and instructional quality have inspired higher education leaders, Wingspread conference participants see obstacles to reform in conflicts over accountability, campus-government relationships, and even the existence of a crisis in academe. (MSE)

Although senior faculty are the best prepared to deal with the cognitive and skill deficiencies of today's beginning students, they typically choose to have little direct contact with them. One reason is students' underpreparation and poor writing, and one possible remedy is interdisciplinary collaboration on course development and implementation.…

The social responsibilities of a professional department or school are to turn out technically competent practitioners and to turn out men and women of broad learning and culture who will join the leadership of the society and will exert a constructive influence in community and civic life. (MLW)

The prison college classroom exists in an environment cut off from the outside world, where the debate over the prison classroom's very existence is fueled by public perceptions and media-generated ideas. The violent Lucasville riots in Ohio in 1994 are fresh in the minds of the public, and movies like "Shawshank Redemption" and…

This monograph addresses difficulties with integrating New Zealand university degree qualifications into standards established for secondary education and non-university tertiary education under the National Qualifications Framework resulting from the Education Amendment Act (1990). An introduction, Part 1, reviews the development of the framework…

This paper describes the development of a course in Chicano/Latino psychology by a professor of a mixed Chicano and Anglo ethnic background at Washington State University. The course objectives include: examination of the current psychosocial literature related to Chicano/Latino populations; issues of acculturation and ethnic identity; the…

Livingston College, a branch of Rutgers University in New Jersey, was established to provide working class and disadvantaged ethnic groups with access to an innovative and socially oriented higher education curriculum. Contradictory values in the dominant society, however, led to the college's failure to realize its goals, and its eventual…

The core curriculum of a civic liberal education should combine the values of a stable cultural pluralism and political unity. Students should undertake scholarly and critical study of the underlying civic principles and values necessary for generating an informed and effective citizenry. (Author/MSE)

The faculty's primary function in the private, liberal arts college is to foster its own and the students' independent judgment, not to provide an educational smorgasbord. It should focus on the original subject matter of the liberal arts (reading, writing, speaking, listening, and reasoning about truth, goodness, and beauty) and promote dialog.…

After a survey of general education reform movements of this century, it is suggested that general education should focus on experiences that knit individuals into a community. Six themes are proposed: use of symbols, membership in groups and institutions, producing and consuming, relationship with nature, sense of time, and values and beliefs.…

In an interview, Amitai Etzioni discusses the difficult economic and social decisions facing higher education today, expresses his opinions about government role in education, content of college curricula as they are used to meet social needs, preparation within colleges for the immediate future, faculty tenure, and balancing budgets. (MSE)

Intellectualism and impersonalism are seen as making many academic activities miseducative. It is advocated that academics organize curricular and extracurricular activities to direct students toward an understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. [This issue commemorates JHE's 50th year. Reprints of notable articles (HE 511…

Explains that European engineering students are not well prepared to integrate socio-economic and environmental issues efficiently into their future professional activities. Argues that necessary changes include a more interdisciplinary and systems-oriented approach to problems and better training in communication skills. Provides an example of an…

Describes the historical and philosophical base of an approach to teaching and learning known as Problem-Based Learning (PBL). Argues that the adoption of the PBL approach should be carefully considered. Cites problems that have occurred in settings using PBL. (DDR)