Outlines some of the pedagogical and organizational concerns encountered in transforming a traditional college-level U.S. geography course into a course emphasizing pluralism and diversity issues. Identifies the five principal components of pluralism as ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and social class. Discusses incorporating these components…

This book focuses on the Wannsee Conference (Berlin, Germany, 1943) where Germany's "learned men" gathered to work out a "final solution" for the Jewish "problem." It addresses the issue of what had gone wrong with the education system when the men attending this conference (who had received its highest degrees) could…

This paper addresses societal transformations and higher education's response to these changes and argues that a much larger and deeper change is occurring which should be examined within the context of a paradigm shift. The paper begins with a brief review of the theoretical literature on paradigms; then it demonstrates the use of these…

Although the American work force is generally better educated than ever before, the general productivity of American workers continues to drop. This trend indicates that too many people are unable to cope with the demands placed on them to organize, evaluate, and communicate information to each other. In order to better prepare citizens for life…

The context for considering faculty career vitality is addressed. It is suggested that the unit of study should be individual, and that both internal and external influences should be considered. A contrasting view is that the institution should be the unit of study. A Pennsylvania State University study revealed that faculty career decisions were…

The recent shift away from traditional liberal education to vocational training is examined, along with the effects this trend may have on the United States. After a preliminary review in Chapter 1, "American Higher Education: Recent History and Present Condition," Chapter 2, "How Well-Educated Are the American People?" examines past trends in…

This paper discusses what colleges and universities can do to improve the capacity of the public schools to deliver quality education in social studies and other areas to America's children. The quality of public education can be improved by changing the system for delivering education and by improving the quality of teaching. Colleges and…

Media literacy (particularly for television) should be taught in college freshman composition courses. Since young people watch a lot of television, they should understand the dynamics of that medium and be able to use interpretive and evaluative skills in selecting and viewing only the best of the medium. Since the methods of studying literature…

Current curricula in institutions of higher education are criticized in this speech for their lack of a common core of education. Several possibilities for developing such a common core include education centered around our common heritage and the challenges of the present. It is suggested that all students must be introduced to the events,…

In his introduction to the course, Issues in Economic Geography, the author surveys the profession of geography, reviewing its history and its function in today's society and making recommendations for a "rethinking" of geography. He states that positivism, the search for emperically verifiable knowledge that makes an objective science of some…

The ways many people view higher education today are examined, especially some of the ways evaluators, researchers, and others are assessing college benefits and college impact. Trends toward getting a college education without going to college are discussed, with reference to the evaluation design of the input-environment-output model. College…

The paper investigates the relationships among indoctrination, education, believing, and action in order to inform students and teachers of methods of openly and collectively guarding against indoctrination in the American school system. Four conditions for distinguishing indoctrination from education are: (1) intent of the teacher; (2) truth or…

Articulation is defined as the processes that promote continuous, efficient, forward progress of students through the educational system. Several trends are now apparent that emphasize the need to improve articulation throughout postsecondary education. Matriculating students are more heterogeneous and their variations in preparation must be…

To assist educators interested in developing alternative student teaching centers within the United States or abroad, the article provides a "how-to-do-it" listing of activities in order to deal with expectations and responsibilities prior to and during student teaching in alternative sites and evaluation and program follow-up. (MH)

Two aspects of the teacher testing issue are discussed: (1) reasons for assuming that teachers should be tested; and (2) domains in which testing might occur. The effects of testing on teacher quality and public opinion are discussed. Ways that teacher educators can use their influence to improve teacher quality are suggested. (PP)