An exploratory course was designed to give secondary school students exposure to all languages in the foreign language curriculum, in sequence, so they may decide which, if any, to enroll in. This course was begun in 1979 to counter an elitist image of foreign language courses. Course topics encouraged students to explore the languages fully by:…

The Northeast Campus of Tarrant County Junior College (TX) experienced a foreign language enrollment increase of 196% between 1973 and 1983, compared to a collegewide enrollment increase of only 91%. The program's success is due largely to the number and variety of curricular offerings. In addition to a 6-course sequence of 3- and 4-hour courses…

The U.S. public high school should return to a core curriculum which is defined as a broad consensus on the basic information and skills to which most young students should have been exposed by the time they graduate from high school. The duty of educators is to teach the skills and general information that enable educated persons to continue…

This paper on the state of general and liberal education in the United States discusses a project which sought to examine and improve general and liberal education programs at the higher education level. The first part of this paper delineates the undermining of liberal education in the nation's colleges and universities following World War II.…

An innovative, flexible scheduling technique for advanced levels of a foreign language program is described. The technique, predicated on individualized pacing and continuous progress, is generalizable to all elective programs, and offers a workable solution to satisfy the enrollment "numbers game" and to lend breadth and depth to the curricula of…

This study examined the hypothesis that subjects experiencing a minicourse curriculum would show greater cognitive and affective gains than subjects in a traditional curriculum. The Watson-Claser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Cooperative English, JIM Scale, and Gable-Roberts Attitude Toward School Subjects were administered (September-June) to 500…

By comparing high school students' total English scores on the California Achievement Test (CAT) and observing differences in performance based on grade level and gender, a recent study investigated whether significant differences exist between the achievement of students taught in an English phase-elective mini-course system and the achievement…

The discipline of educational psychology can contribute to a liberal education and should be reorganized to meet this new role in higher education. In light of such problems as the decreasing demand for teachers, educational psychology courses should change from a teacher education to an elective or liberal arts orientation. Economic conditions…

An elective graduate course on multicultural education in a teacher education program had two main goals: (1) to develop student awareness of the ways in which race, class, and gender affect educational achievement; and (2) to encourage students to challenge social inequality and promote an acceptance of cultural diversity. A social…

The degree of professionalization of the field of higher education was investigated. To determine if higher education possesses unique knowledge and skills, a curriculum analysis was undertaken at Indiana University, Columbia University's Teachers College, and the University of Michigan. Using student transcripts, program handbooks, and university…

A discussion of language teaching at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology emphasizes problems specific to the teaching of English, Hebrew, and Arabic, the main languages used in Israel. Three aspects of the program of instruction are examined. The first is the distinction between required and elective languages. English is required of all…