Outlines the current state of research on curriculum change by reference to studies representative of the main trends in the United States and England. Reviews the Curriculum Diffusion Research Project and presents suggestions for future study in the area of curriculum diffusion. (GS)

Describes a cooperative effort by personnel from three Texas junior high schools and East Texas State University to develop an effective curriculum evaluation system. The evaluation design and measurement devices were developed by University personnel and then used by seven eighth-grade teachers to evaluate a commercially available curriculum…

Responses to the curriculum survey in the May 1978 issue are summarized and a profile of the curriculum user derived. The kinds of curriculum materials that teachers use, want, and need are listed from the 117 responses to the survey. (MF)

Three fundamental theoretical issues of importance to the work of curricularists are examined: (1) the matter of the technical and the practical; (2) the relation between knowledge and human interests; and (3) the relation between theory and practice. References are made to the critical theory writings of Richard J. Bernstein and Jurgen Habermas.…

Evaluates five methods of implementing curriculum change in terms of cost, usage rates, satisfaction, and the Havelock model of knowledge, dissemination, and utilization. (SL)

The purposes of this study were to determine the social studies series adoption policies of midwestern school districts and to identify the most popular and successful series in use. Data were provided by elementary principals in 186 randomly selected school districts. Available from: Department of Social Science Education, University of Georgia,…

In the Mini-Society program intermediate grade students create their own microcosmic version of an adult economy. This study showed that in addition to increasing students' economic understanding, Mini-Society also improves the students' mathematical reasoning. (RM)

Discusses curriculum theory in relation to educational interactive videodisc. Highlights include the influence of cultural values on curriculum, curriculum design components, and curriculum engineering, which includes planning, implementation, and evaluation. Instructional design for interactive videodisc is discussed, and 41 references are…

Treating curriculum out of context is mostly responsible for the disappointments of curriculum theory in practice. Decontextualization has conceptually separated curriculum from its design and use; operationally, curriculum is separated from its structural and sociocultural contexts. The alternative--curriculum in context--can inform research,…

Relates how historical developments initiated the curriculum reform movement, which caused curriculum studies to become vulnerable to reconceptualization. Traces the movement from Sputnik in 1957 through reconceptualists' opposition to the mainstream field in the 1970s. The opposition has now become the field itself, which is characterized by…

Ralph W. Tyler reviews five significant events in the field of curriculum development: (1) work of Edward Thorndike, (2) John Dewey's monograph on interest and effort in education, (3) the 26th yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, (4) the formation of the Society for Curriculum Study in 1930, and (5) curriculum experiments…

Curriculum activities in arts education during the last two decades and their significance for curriculum development in the arts are explored in this article. (DF)

Explores the concept of "null curriculum"--what schools do not teach. Attempts to define the term, focusing on possible uses in theory, research, and practice. While hard to define and limited as a research concept, "null curriculum" can inform cosiderations of curriculum goals, content, and selection criteria. Lists eight…

Describes an eight-year study in curriculum development at the University of Chicago, involving 30 school systems and featuring summer workshops in curriculum planning and evaluation. Shows how the experience validates observations made by Joseph Schwab in "The Practical 4: Something for Curriculum Professors to Do" (Curriculum Inquiry…

Describes an automated curriculum mapping program at a northeastern school district that enabled the district to obtain a wide range of useful data pertaining to curriculum implementation. Difficulties in mapping procedure and data collection are recounted, an evaluation design is described, and guidelines are provided for efficient maps. (TE)