Revisits the historical contours of the debate over the need for and role of the required first-year course in writing. Argues for the value of the required course in composition as a pedagogical site with the potential to influence large of numbers of students, and for its importance as a site of struggle within the institutional hierarchy of…

Reports on efforts at California State University to limit remedial instruction through such measures as requiring students to complete all remedial work before their sophomore year and working with high schools to align placement testing and high school curricula. Critics suggest students are being punished for attending high schools that failed…

Examines the catalogs of a random sample of 292 national and regional universities and liberal arts colleges to collect curriculum data on the prevalence of focused specialty versus general degrees in psychology and on the course requirements for the various degree options. Presents the findings and addresses the status of nongeneral degrees. (CMK)

Examined perceived interest of students in English language learning and perceived relevance of compulsory English to students' acquisition of a functional education. A questionnaire was administered to university students in India. Results suggest that the majority of students considered the English course relevant and were interested in taking…

Discussion of prior learning and acquired knowledge focuses on a study at Ben Gurion University (Israel) that examined the occurrence and nature of learning in an earth science course and its relations with prior knowledge from a prerequisite course. Highlights include concept definitions; cognitive mapping; course sequencing; and course design.…

Investigates the work and communication needs of newly graduated auditors, their senior colleagues, and their managers in five MNCs (multinational companies) in Singapore. Suggests that accounting courses could prepare undergraduates more effectively in the oral/interpersonal skills needed in the initial stages of their auditing careers by…

Due in large part to the trends towards economic globalization, English has become the most widely disseminated and ubiquitous international language. The purpose of the study was to investigate what Taiwan's EFL teachers at the elementary level believe about the policy of English as a compulsory subject and how they perceive the benefits and…

French postsecondary education for 16- to 19-year-olds is divided into programs that lead to the Baccalaureats--general, technical, and vocational--and to the lower-level Certificat d'Aptitude Professionnel (CAP) and Brevet d'Etudes Professionnelles (BEP). A common mathematics core curriculum is specified for all CAP students, regardless of…

This digest highlights the planning phase of developing and implementing middle school foreign language programs, focusing particular attention on program types and criteria for selecting an appropriate program. Specific issues addressed include the following: (1) Which language or languages should be taught? (2) At what grade level should foreign…

Amidst the controversy surrounding the fate of the humanities in modern society, a program has evolved at Dawson College and four other English "colleges d'enseignment general et professionel" (CEGEP) that features a compulsory humanities core. The original purpose of the humanities program was to provide a broad general liberal arts…

General education requirements in the humanities at American colleges and universities were studied by the Higher Education Panel in spring 1984, based on usable surveys returned by 374 of the 454 institutions to which the survey had been sent. Data from the colleges were statistically weighted to reflect the national population of 2,566…

The evolution and administration of testing to measure student progress through a required undergraduate bibliographic instruction course (Library 160) at Iowa State University are described. Bibliographic instruction began at the university in 1890. Through 1958 all colleges within the university received a noncredit required course in library…

The appearance of a graduation requirement in the arts has focused attention on public school systems to provide comprehensive music education coursework. As a result, this report discusses trends in secondary music education course requirements, suggests strategies for implementing a meaningful music curriculum, cites obstacles to expanding music…

This paper presents two propositions: (1) that extensive knowledge of subject matter is a necessary but not sufficient condition for effective teaching; and (2) that teacher education is a legitimate professional preparation which should be improved rather than circumvented. Six rationales for the validity of the above propositions, based on…

A redesigned preservice education curriculum, conceived to strengthen ties between special and regular elementary teachers, featured the extensive use of practicums and student teaching. A questionnaire was developed to secure external evaluation and validation of the program. The specific research objective was concerned with how members of the…