This study begins with an effort to place the secondary school humanities education movement in the context of the broad concern of educators with curriculum reform during the past decade. An examination of the instruction programs in secondary school humanities education revealed four major variants: Aesthetic Education, Cultural Epoch, Great Themes, and Great Books. The diversity of interpretations of the humanities revealed a need for clarification of the conception of the humanities underlying these offerings. In an effort to gain perspective on the problem of the idea of the humanities, a historical investigation was undertaken. The study of the humanities was traced from its origins to the present. The philosophical foundation of each of the variants within the contemporary secondary school humanities movement was then examined in terms of the insights gained from the historical inquiry. It was shown that these programs represent a continuation of the humanities tradition with respect to their approach to subject matter. In addition to the descriptive analysis of the present state of secondary school humanities education, the movement was analyzed critically. The concepts examined included the notions of interdisciplinary studies and the idea of the master discipline. (Author/WR)