Introductory psychology courses are often designed as technical, preprofessional courses for majors, but they should instead offer a view of human nature. A Wesleyan University course was designed on the notion of the psychological human, and covered the functions of perception and memory, cognitive processes, the social dimension of human nature,…

Teaching the large introductory science course is a challenge, but when the objective is seen not as covering the field but uncovering part of it to illustrate principles common to the whole, the facts are no longer the end result but tools with which the disciplines can be further explored. (Author/MSE)

A tendency in liberal arts to organize the disciplines into a common, core curriculum and to evangelize this common learning in a puritanical way is examined and criticized. It is recommended that the liberal education mission must not be imposed on those who do not seek it. (MSE)

The intent of this discussion paper is to provide a survey of emerging trends in general education reform at institutions of higher education. Ten themes are identified: (1) rethinking the major; (2) concern with student learning beyond course content; (3) an increased emphasis on diversity; (4) the importance of technology; (5) efficiency and…

Argues that higher education's traditional "closed" communities contrast sharply with democratic progressive ones that are more inclusive, empowering, and diverse. Drawing on feminism and postmodernism, demonstrates why service-learning is well suited to connect relational, experiential, and constructive epistemologies with democratic progressive…

Steps in making a higher education institution a multicultural place of learning include expressing mission in terms of human cultures, developing faculty for excellence in multiculturalism, evaluating curricula with regard to different ways human cultures have focused on issues, ensuring that perspectives offered are not monocultural, and…

Reports on the advances of one institution in integrating design across the undergraduate engineering curriculum. Design education is treated as a developmental process to be practiced during each year of the program. Presents examples of design work from courses in each year to illustrate the variety of design problems used to incorporate design…

Examined synopses of academic mission statements to explore the relationship between stated mission and curricula of 327 colleges claiming to emphasize liberal arts. Results indicate that the curricula of 68% of these colleges were dominated by professional disciplines. Statistical analysis revealed several institutional characteristics that…

The curriculum guidelines are intended to prepare the general dental practice resident for involvement with the physical, emotional, and psychological issues faced by patients with mild to severe disabilities. The guidelines address education goal, prerequisites, core content outline, specific behavioral objectives, sequencing, faculty, and…

Reform of undergraduate education will only succeed if undergraduate study is reconceptualized as a process of gaining proficiencies, learning to think critically, and strengthening character traits, not simply taking a series of courses. The college environment must also support this kind of individual development. (MSE)

Undergraduate education is illiberal because the progression from general to specialized learning does not support students in learning how to make choices or explore their consequences. Courses late in the student's program, rather than at the outset, that explore disciplinary boundaries and interconnections could be useful. (MSE)

Compares a college-level senior seminar at Christoper Newport University (VA) to a rite of passage for new members in the field. Describes the structure, content, and assignments used in the course. Lists criteria used to evaluate student papers and presentations. (CFR)

A generic competence model for effective nursing performance was developed and compared with nurses' perceptions of job elements that discriminate outstanding nursing performance and that are critical in the selection and education of nurses. The model is to be used to validate the nursing faculty's existing competence model for nursing education…

A bibliography covering representative literature on higher education between 1976 and 1983 is presented. For each reference, information is included on author, title, place of publication, publisher, and date. Pamphlets and monographs of less than 100 pages are identified, but theses and other unpublished works are excluded. A section is included…

Faculty beliefs about educational purpose and the nature of their academic field strongly influence how they plan introductory courses. Significantly different conceptions of educational purpose among faculty in different fields may inhibit agreement on plans for curricular coherence and ways of communicating expectations to students. Interviews…