The holistic approach to curriculum has four essential characteristics: (1) integrating questions about means and ends; (2) using many specific inquiry modes; (3) emphasizing conceptual questions; and (4) generating certain methodological and practical needs a holistic vision to make sense. Includes seven references. (MLH)

Reports on a study that investigated curricular patterns in undergraduate music education courses and attempted to determine predictor variables for these patterns. Concludes that although a core content can be identified, data indicates inconsistencies in curricula across institutions and a lack of agreement regarding priorities in some content…

Presents an analysis of the development of the basic themes of geography (location, place, relationships, movement, and regions) by selected southwestern Pennsylvania public schools. Concludes that students in grades three through six are most often exposed to the location theme and that sixth graders have the greatest overall exposure to all five…

Claims that research findings of curriculum scholars may be harmful to the successful practice of teaching resulting from the following pathologies within the academic study of curriculum: (1) employing a generic approach toward curricular problems; (2) using meaningless educational jargon; (3) transferring metaphors from other disciplines to…

Presents results of a national survey collecting data about the current status of and trends in elective social studies programs in secondary schools. Reports that most schools offer elective programs, usually optional rather than required electives. Concludes that psychology and sociology were the most common electives. Includes tables showing…

Discusses John Dewey's concept of curriculum, as applied in his Laboratory School. Describes the planning of the school and how its curriculum evolved over time. Identifies both Dewey's belief in educational specialization and his understanding of its limits. Notes the implications of Dewey's work for today's educators. (SG)

Twenty agricultural education experts identified research topics and categories, which were then rated by 34 research experts (92 percent) and 49 department heads (79 percent). Highest ratings went to biotechnology, high technology, and agribusiness; agricultural education curriculum; and long-term impact and cost effectiveness of agricultural…

Examines past research into integrated or interdisciplinary studies and explores future directions for research. Discusses reasons for integrating curricula, characteristics of integrated studies, benefits of curriculum integration, and pedagogical changes accompanying integrated studies. Predicts an unstable future for integrated studies.…

This article explores the place of Ralph Tyler and Joseph Schwab in the history of curriculum studies, and educational theory more broadly. I argue that most analyses of both Schwab's and Tyler's work are built not on their own life-projects and writings, but developed from blinkered readings of a narrow range of their writings selected to meet…

This study details parents' and students' current thinking about math, science and technology (MST) education and their satisfaction with the existing curriculum which most experts see as vastly below world-class standards. The study finds just 25% of Kansas/Missouri parents think their children should be studying more math and science; 70% think…

Teachers have been understood in their functional role and collective agency in sociology. In this article, the author rethinks the structure and agency dimension of teaching in the context of Japanese school education in transition. The new curriculum in Japan puts emphasis on children's subjective experience of learning. This article explores…

In this article, the author, the director of a school for children of ages three to seven, reflects on a curriculum used in the school, shares four assumptions that have made about how children learn best, and presents five goals that guided the caregivers to help children to learn. The curriculum involves a circular process of observing and…

A particular historical account of the "reconceptualization" of the curriculum field has prevailed since advocates of this movement began promoting it in the late 1970s. The standard account is that two developments have led to the demise of the curriculum field and education reform. First, leaders of national reform excluded curriculum…

The Curriculum Matrix developed by A. W. Foshay (1991) is a broad, comprehensive conception of curriculum, incorporating a range of perspectives and meanings often overlooked. This paper situates Foshay's matrix in the field of curriculum studies. By focusing on Foshay's interpretation of five curricular purposes (aesthetic, physical,…

This paper discusses school structure and curriculum for secondary schools in Ireland. The document surveys the research that has been conducted. Secondary schools in Ireland are for students between the ages of 12 and 18, with compulsory education for students up to 16 years of age. The three main types of schools are traditional academic…