Inflated college grades reflect an underlying problem: inappropriate content, modes of presentation, and modes of assessment. Many popular assumptions about how to address the question of standards (modifying transcripts, freeing teachers from external pressure, using grades as an indicator of quality) emphasize grades rather than standards.…

Argues that Chinese students are being increasingly exposed to education for modernization while largely missing out on an education in the social criticism of technology that would allow them to make empowered decisions about the role of technology and progress in Chinese culture. (DDR)

Reflection on religious issues is an essential part of education. In secular colleges and universities, religious topics under study should be highlighted, with discussion, challenges, and critique encouraged, not dismissed or ignored. Faculty should openly express their convictions when relevant to the subject or a student's concern. Dialogue can…

Since World War II, US higher education has enjoyed a broad public consensus about its basic goals, values, and methods. That consensus is breaking down; and to preserve the best of higher education's heritage, the central tenet of the old consensus, that college opportunity should be as widely available as possible to those who could benefit,…

Argues that the current cohort of teachers is not comfortable with science and avoids teaching science because of ignorance, disinterest, and lack of support from school authorities. Also states that scientists have doubts about the current university curriculum for teachers. (DDR)

Contests the assertion that vocational courses track students away from the baccalaureate. Sees a blurring distinction between vocational and transfer courses, contending that students may take "vocational" courses to transfer and "transfer" courses to prepare for jobs. Discusses the ad hoc nature of student attendance and course-taking patterns.…

Considers the leadership role played by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC) in curriculum development. Reviews AACJC's public policy agenda for 1987. Traces the organization's role in establishing economic development as a curricular priority for two-year colleges, and briefly describes award-winning partnerships…

The trend toward a "politically correct" college curriculum and instructional materials is criticized as contradicting the principle of academic freedom, an essential principle of higher education. It is argued that appropriate exposure to controversial ideas is a crucial element in the student's intellectual development and the creation…

A white male professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks taught an experimental section of a composition course with a reading list composed almost entirely of American Indian and Alaska Native authors. Vocal controversies about the readings were attributed to fundamentalist views, lack of experience in reading literature, sensitivity about…

A new liberal arts curriculum to meet the challenge of global interdependence is proposed. Four courses (human culture, global values, comparative environmental studies, and global transformations) would form a required common core, with 28 electives providing opportunities for students and faculty to exercise choice and personal responsibility.…

Emerging challenges for the community college include working with the public schools to accommodate the needs and skills of college-bound students, meeting changing work skill demands, and providing meaningful general education for a diverse student population. (MSE)

A general education reform initiative, emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach, is being developed at the State University of New York-Geneseo by a team of faculty and administrators as the result of a national conference. Emphasis is placed on the process by which the initiative evolved, team membership, the role of the conference, and timing.…

Mathematics educators have led the educational reform movement in recent years. New curricula and innovative teaching methods are emerging in elementary and secondary programs, as illustrated by the work of the College Board, University of Chicago, University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco, and the National Science Foundation. (MSE)

Educational achievement should be intellectually and philosophically divorced from cultural affirmation, which is merely a byproduct of the inclusion of diverse voices in the search for truth. A model based on the relationship between the valuation of oneself by others and by oneself is presented to explain differential effects of schooling on…

An undergraduate degree in public administration is neither needed nor a desirable educational goal for the fields of public administration and public policy. Undergraduate public-administration education should focus only on macrosocietal issues such as the substantive role of the citizenry in democracy; the nature of public interest; and…