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There is increasing recognition that social work educators must do more to ensure that social work students transitioning into the profession are prepared to engage in adept self-care practices. However, documented curricular efforts targeted at meeting this aim are few. This paper documents the impact of a credit-bearing self-care course on student (N = 40) competency about self-care. The course occurred in a social work education program at a large public institution in the United States. The researcher used a pre-experimental (e.g. pre/post) design to assess course outcomes. Results indicate significant improvements in student knowledge about self-care, skills related to engaging in self-care practices, and value related to self-care. After a review literature, this paper will provide a foundational overview of the course, delineate outcome variables and measures, explicate evaluative findings, and discuss salient implications derived from this endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces a metric designed to estimate the amount of attention given to different countries of the world in academic using Internet term paper mills. The metric is used to introduce a call for the incorporation of more geographic education regarding peripheral areas of the world into the boarder college curriculum. Even as geography courses struggle to incorporate knowledge of may peripheral parts of the world, the rest of the university experience is continuing to reflect perceived national interests.

This paper examines the organization and representation of time in certain kinds of undergraduate programs, here represented by a sociology program in a US university. Written requirements for the major are analyzed as constituting a 'chart' that defines academic time in terms of units of before-after relationships. The paper shows how students 'reuse' these temporal units when charting paths through the university and reckoning their academic work to specific futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hidden curriculum consists of implicit values taught and learned through the process of schooling. The first section of this paper describes theoretical and methodological approaches to research in this area, drawing examples from general education literature. The second section reviews research related to the hidden curriculum in physical education. The final section proposes a model for feminist analysis of the hidden curriculum in sport and physical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given two million deaths annually in the U. S., social work education and training have been cited as woefully inadequate in end-of-life care. In response, two of the authors developed two post-Masters programs in end-of-life care for social work. This paper describes their curricula and the methods used to evaluate both programs, including measurements of the participants' self-efficacy before and after the programs. The analysis of evaluative data from the classroom and first-year field experiences of each program shows that participants increased their levels of skill, knowledge, values, and self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual economic educators have made some interesting and useful changes in their classrooms. However, the purpose of this paper has been to raise issues which have largely been avoided in the past and cannot be avoided in the future. I believe that we must critically reexamine the presuppositions of much of our work and make use of research being done by economists outside the economic education profession per se. Economic educators should make greater use of the tools of analysis which they teach in the study of what they teach. To do this, they must step back, away from the classroom and the particulars of their teaching experiences, and consider the student and the teacher as rational individuals who look upon economic education as one of many possible goods over which they must allocate their resources to maximize their individual welfares. We must ask some tough questions. Do voters really have sufficient incentive to become and remain economically literate and to employ what they know in the political process? Economics is one of a number of subjects which have potential external benefits. Assuming that students cannot learn everything, what claim does economic education have on public resources relative to other subjects? Can we argue for the introduction of economic education without opening up the public school curriculum to exploitation by all interest groups who believe that their subjects rightfully have greater claim to resources than economics? I note that the elementary school curriculum has been opened up to special educational interest groups, and the curriculum has literally become a hodgepodge of subjects. This development is taking its toll on basic educational skills. Finally, we must ask: Is the cost of raising the public's economic literacy, as defined, for example, by the TUCE, greater than, equal to, or less than the benefits achieved in government policy because of economics instruction? Although we may wish (or believe) that the benefits exceed the costs, this indeed may not be the case, particularly in the light of the problems the profession has encountered in raising the understanding of students. These are positive questions which go to the heart of what many perceive to be the justification for our existence. Answers may not only tell us what we are doing wrong but may also indicate why we have not done more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an interview with Salvatore Natoli, Educational Affairs Director of the Association of American Geographers. According to Natoli, the association is concerned with the health of geography in higher education. Beginning in 1961 the association appointed a committee to investigate how geography could be introduced into the curricular structure of undergraduate liberal education. The Committee secured funding from the National Science Foundation of the U.S. government and in 1965 issued a report, Geography in Undergraduate Liberal Education that laid the broad conceptual background for the subsequent work of the Commission on College Geography. It focused on a variety of ways to present the way to present the introductory course. First titled resource papers aimed to bring the latest developments in geographic research into small, inexpensive publications before this information reached textbooks. They were really summaries of the state of the art in various subfields or on various topics.

This paper is a descriptive account of how short-term international and multicultural experiences can be integrated into early design experiences in an aerospace engineering curriculum. Such approaches are considered as important not only in fostering a student's interest in the engineering curriculum, but also exposing them to a multicultural setting that they are likely to encounter in their professional careers. In the broader sense, this programme is described as a model that can be duplicated in other engineering disciplines as a first-year experience. In this study, undergraduate students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Universidad del Turabo (UT) in Puerto Rico collaborated on a substantial design project consisting of designing, fabricating, and flight-testing radio-controlled model aircraft as a capstone experience in a semester-long course on Fundamentals of Flight. The two-week long experience in Puerto Rico was organised into academic and cultural components designed with the following objectives: (i) to integrate students in a multicultural team-based academic and social environment, (ii) to practise team-building skills and develop students’ critical thinking and analytical skills, and finally (iii) to excite students about their engineering major through practical applications of aeronautics and help them decide if it is a right fit for them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

MSW students may experience considerable stress during graduate school due to multiple life demands and the challenges of social work curricula, which often involves exposure to distressing client situations. Students' quality of life may be negatively impacted without sufficient tools to manage these stressful experiences. This paper presents evaluative findings of a course/module designed to enable MSW students in a university in the Southwestern United States to increase their quality of life and build stress coping abilities by incorporating mindfulness into their daily self care routines. Findings reveal that after completing the course/module, students reported increased quality of life even though perceived stress levels did not improve. Accordingly, mindfulness holds significant promise for bolstering students' ability to cope with the challenges of graduate school and preparing for professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from research that investigated students and academic staff working in partnership to co-create curricula. Using case study methodology, the study investigated three examples within higher education in the UK, Ireland and the USA, where academic staff and students co-designed curricula. Findings focus on the approach to co-created curricula described by academic staff within each setting, followed by presentation of cross-case themes and outcomes from the three examples. The discussion focuses on drawing out key messages from the study results including the importance of students’ views being taken seriously and a range of early design decisions that are taken by academic staff and which are useful to those considering co-creating curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research effort examined current mechanical engineering educational programmes in America and Australia to determine the degree of holistic, systems thinking of each programme. Faculty from ten American universities and ten Australian universities participated in online surveys and interviews. Resulting data analysis and interpretation suggest that holistic, systems thinking is present in both American and Australian engineering educational programmes, although it is more prevalent in Australian programmes. Specific examples of educational opportunities (courses, projects, extracurricular activities, research experiences) that integrate complex systems study are described in the full paper. This study is currently limited a small sample size within two countries, but it would be very useful to expand the study to a larger population and to include European sites to gain a fuller picture of the state of holistic, systems thinking in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College and university professors in large part do not make connections between their disciplines and the culture of their students. Research has found culturally relevant curricula and pedagogy to be effective in helping to increase the academic achievement of students (Au, 1981; Bell & Clark, 1998; Cazden & John, 1971; John, 1972; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Norment, 1997). I conducted research using a modified case study method to investigate the practice of Multicultural Education by university professors. The Five Dimensions of Multicultural Education, as conceived by James Banks (2004a), and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, as discussed by Ladson-Billings (1995), informed the conceptual framework for this study. I conducted the study using qualitative methodological tools of interviews, observations, and artifact collection. The present paper reports the findings of the United States History for Teachers case. This case is one of six in a larger study of a number of college courses in the undergraduate curriculum that prepares students for public school teaching. I present findings that suggest how some aspects of multicultural education are practiced in a course that prepares history teachers. After providing a critique of the studied practices, I offer suggestions for improving the practice of multicultural education in History for Teachers courses. I also offer a new reflective approach to the practice of multicultural education for teacher educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the approach taken to prepare Old Dominion University's undergraduate computer engineering curriculum for technology-based delivery. In order to improve on methods for student learning, technology is now being developed for use in both the classroom and for distance education. To accomplish this, the curriculum content is organized into learning modules that are more fine-grained 'chunks' of learning materials than a three-credit college course. By carefully designing these learning modules-ensuring, for example, well-defined learning objectives, a precedence relationship with other modules, assessment measures, and notational and structural consistency among modules - the modules can easily be reorganized to satisfy a variety of learning objectives. Once produced, a module can be used in a synchronous environment to support student learning in a traditional context, or be part of an asynchronous delivery system such as the Web. The key advantage of this modular structure lies in its flexibility. The investment made to produce the modules may now be recouped by using the modules in both on-campus and distance learning degree and non-degree activities, or by using the modules for performance support. Other advantages include the ability to easily update information in the curricula and the ability to use the best experts for a specific area. In this paper, this modular approach is described in more detail as applied to an undergraduate computer engineering programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines various aspects of the high school economics curriculum in the U.S. High school economics is not a homogeneous product. Students have not rigorously identified what high school economics ought to be; consequently it is difficult to measure teaching and learning effectiveness. In recognition of the above two problems, the evaluation of the high school economics course given in this paper deals first with an identification of the course product in terms of its conceptual content. The two purposes of this study are to identify common characteristics among inputs and to determine the relationship between the conceptual content of the course and groups of explanatory variables that characterize "the teacher," "the course structure," and the institutional framework provided by the school and the school district. The use of the principal components model permitted the computation of factor scores from the matrix of factor loadings, making it possible for a limited number of variables to be carried over in further analysis. The two variables found to be significant were the number of students per grade level and course length measured in class hours. The number of students per grade level loaded high on factor 4.

As the higher education sector of hospitality management continues its growth in the United States, there has been an increasing need to fortify the foundation of information on master’s programs. Gaps in knowledge regarding institutional characteristics, admission requirements, degree requirements, and identity of the hospitality core curriculum have been identified through reviews of existing literature. This study focused on gathering objective, secondary data to fill those gaps and provide descriptive information that will be useful for program administrators, faculty, and prospective graduate students in the United States. The results of the study indicate a lack of strong identity in the hospitality curriculum and diverse options for students regarding degree requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the researchers discuss speaking centers across the country, providing data from a nationwide survey. The purpose of this investigation is to show how assessment, speaking across the curriculum, and speaking centers are related and to report the results of a nation wide study. This investigation asked department chairs and speaking center directors to discuss the scope of the speaking center at the participant's community college, 4-year college, or university campus. Participants provided input with regard to institutional specifics to pedagogical methods employed at the speaking center. Results, in addition to implications and recommendations for assessment are discussed. The findings indicate five major areas: 1) the importance and prioritization of speaking centers is emerging with higher value in recent years; 2) staffing should include faculty positions; 3) funding should be provided for new equipment and resources; 4) the importance of assessment of student speaking skills cannot be underestimated; and 5) that instruction in listening through speaking centers is lacking. These are significant because they are reflective of the current economic status of higher education. As colleges and universities value oral communication, and employers seek graduates with effective communication skills, state legislators and government seem to provide less funding. The conclusions and implications are in the form of eleven recommendations suggested to colleges and universities interested in the implementation of oral communication across the curriculum and/or speaking centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past thirty years, while foundations of education programs have been shrinking on American campuses, faculty in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee created an undergraduate degree program in community education that has attracted older, nontraditional students. Using a curriculum that provides skills and understandings needed to improve urban communities and schools, the Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies expanded on traditional notions of educational foundations to create courses for students from all over campus interested in studying the complex dynamics of race and class in urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As policymakers and other stakeholders continue to intensify their questions and critiques of art history's place in the higher education curriculum in the United States (U.S.), researchers have not pointedly addressed its place in the K-12 curriculum. How has art history been incorporated into K-12 art classrooms in the past, and how is it being incorporated today? Is this more humanistic component of the K-12 art curriculum under the same duress as is art history on college and university campuses? This article examines the place of art history in K-12 art classrooms over time and notes that it has been emphasized during periods of concern for the U.S.'s position in global affairs (1960s and 1980s). At present art history in the K-12 classroom is integrated through field trips, within assessment, and in helping students gain new sociocultural perspectives. As we argue, art history's agility in the K-12 art curriculum, in the past and present, can provide unique, and potentially insightful, perspectives to the conversations concerning art history's diminishing significance in higher education and potential ways to align itself for future survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors describe the framework their department has adopted to incorporate the attainment of Hansen's (1986) proficiencies into the curriculum. Major changes include the identification of tools students should be able to use to complete specific activities, significant changes in prerequisites for upper- division courses, and the development of a capstone experience designed to bring together the various tools the student has been introduced to as he or she proceeds through the major. They believe that the design characteristics of their capstone experience promote the achievement of Hansen's proficiencies, and the framework described here could be easily adopted by other departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent curriculum development projects have introduced geographers to the theory and practice of online instruction. One of these projects, the Virtual Geography Department (VGD) at the University of Texas at Austin, seeks to promote the development of high-quality instructional materials on the Web. Twenty-nine participants in the VGD project were interviewed for the purpose of learning what effects the VGD had on their educational practice. The results show that the VGD is diffusing innovative practice in geography by training faculty members in Web pedagogy and online curriculum development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on the Master of Fine Art (MFA) in Visual Art Program at Vermont College. Aim of the program; Basic concepts that shaped the program's structure; Projects that students pursue during six-month semesters; Final academic paper for graduating students.

The article presents the discussion on institutions of higher education in the U.S. Topics include understanding the limitations of the library's electronic resources licenses and communicating with the appropriate instructors; users affiliating with the library such as high school students coming to the library for a tour or researchers using the library's special collections; and students taking courses at the university or college through a corporate partnership or community program.

Brigham Young University (BYU) received a grant from the Accounting Education Change Commission in 1990. BYU's approach to innovative accounting education makes a useful contribution to accounting education as a result of the following features: (1) a heavy systems orientation with a database that can be drawn upon by all accounting disciplines; (2) an integrative approach in teaching accounting subjects based on a business-cycle approach; and (3) the integration of various competencies into the skill base of the students as they learn accounting subject material. These features are achieved through the use of well-developed teaching plans, a cooperative faculty, specific calendaring of teaching days and specific topical coverage identified for each business cycle topic area. The results indicate that many features are transportable to other accounting programmes. The Brigham Young University School of Accountancy Information Systems received an award from the American Accounting Association at the August 1993 AAA convention for having the most innovative accounting education project selected from worldwide nominees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the light of significant changes in the environment facing international business in the last two decades, this paper reports on the results of a survey of international accounting courses in UK universities and polytechnics/colleges. The survey was concerned with the extent of international accounting teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, the specific topics covered, and the proportion of time allocated to each topic. The results of this survey are compared with similar surveys in the USA and an earlier survey of UK universities. Finally, the authors offer their conclusions on the state of international accounting courses and suggestions for the future development of international accounting as an academic discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do performance studies scholars communicate the field to and for students, scholars, and stakeholders? Through an analysis of online data gathered from institutions of higher education in the United States, we investigated how educators narrate performance studies in curricular descriptions. We detail the stated characteristics of performance studies and its object of study; the theories and sources referenced by scholars; and the methodologies, approaches, and techniques educators use and teach (to which ends). These findings and the collective picture they paint provide a guide for current and future scholars and students interested in performance studies praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a review of extant literature specific to educational leadership preparation programmes. The author explains how leadership development and preparation programmes have evolved over time. Highlighted are: (1) historical contexts of educational leadership, (2) challenges faced when implementing quality graduate programmes in educational leadership, (3) a brief international perspective of educational leadership, and (4) reform efforts aimed at creating a new kind of graduate education in educational leadership. The authors conclude with final reflections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Answering a call put forth decades ago by the higher education community and the federal government, we investigated the impact of US college coursework on student learning gains. Students gained, on average, 3.72 points on a 66-item test of quantitative and scientific reasoning after experiencing 1.5 years of college. Gain scores were unrelated to the number of quantitative and scientific reasoning courses completed when controlling and not controlling for students' personal characteristics. Unexpectedly, yet fortunately, gain scores showed no discernable difference when corrected for low test-taking effort, which indicated test-taking effort did not compromise the validity of the test scores. When gain scores were disaggregated by amount of completed coursework, the estimated gain scores of students with quantitative and scientific reasoning coursework were smaller than what quantitative and scientific reasoning faculty expected or desired. In sum, although students appear on average to be making gains in quantitative and scientific reasoning, there is not a strong relationship between learning gains and students' quantitative and scientific reasoning coursework, and the gains are less than desired by faculty. We discuss implications of these findings for student learning assessment and learning improvement processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-cultural competencies are now specified as critical outcomes in U.S. higher education. Yet an analysis of accredited business programs in New England revealed that students frequently were not required to take courses about the Middle East. The study findings indicate that, for a region of economic and political importance to the United States, a gap exists between the curricular internationalization signaled by accreditation and how accreditors assess this internationalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses similarities and differences in social work education and profession in Australia and the USA, reflects on contemporary issues and challenges that affect social work education and practice in both countries, and identifies mutual areas of learning and exchange. Drawing on secondary data, it comparatively analyses important variables such as the growth of social work education, curricula and curricular models, accreditation standards, code of ethics and professional licensure. The analysis shows significant similarities and differences in these variables, and brings out unaddressed issues and challenges. It argues that the profession in general has not adequately been successful in translating its value-based ideals into social work education and practice in both countries, particularly in the context of the free market economies. Experiences of both countries provide scope for mutual sharing and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching farms have recently gained popularity, but they are often expensive venues per student credit hour. It is therefore important they are used effectively. This research explored why faculty members use teaching farms, their goals and objectives with regard to the farm, and how they integrate teaching farms into curriculum. Twenty interviews were completed with faculty representing 15 institutions. A combined inductive and deductive approach was used to analyze data. The result was a typology of the roles of teaching farms in achieving educational goals and objectives. Four types of roles emerged: enhancement, competency, exploration, and foundation. Three of the four types reflect one of three models of higher education prevalent in the US. Our research suggests a better understanding of educational theory and pedagogy, combined with a firm appreciation of the different models of higher education could significantly enhance the quality of the learning experience provided on teaching farms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In Leonard Koos’s book, The Junior-College Movement, he described the establishment of a junior college in an American public school district as the ‘culmination of the local school system’, alluding to the prestige associated with having a junior college in a community. The best-known example of this arrangement was in Pasadena, California where the combined high school and college operated for 27 years. Less well known is the four-year junior college in central Missouri called Moberly Junior College (MJC). MJC operated as a combined high school and college for 36 years from the autumn of 1931 to the autumn of 1967, the longest running four-year junior college in the United States. This case study of the college examines how the seamless transition between high school and college was accomplished, and what changes in the institution and the educational environment led to the eventual dissolution of the four-year junior college. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research examining the contexts that influence the use of learner-centered assessment (LCA) practices in undergraduate courses has not kept pace with those focusing on teaching practices. Such research is needed given that conceptualizations of effective pedagogy generally include both teaching and assessment. The authors examined a range of individual and institutional variables and their relationships to the use of LCA among faculty in the United States. These variables measured the structural and cultural contexts in which faculty make pedagogical decisions. Data from the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty revealed that faculty who were highly involved in advising, service, and research and reported teaching-friendly cultures were the most likely to use LCA practices. But, it was also found that higher teaching loads and class sizes hindered LCA practices. Almost all of the differences in LCA use occurred within institutions, and the institutional-level variables had little net influence on LCA practices in undergraduate classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Faculty members are instrumental in internationalising the curriculum in a higher education institution. Their favourable or unfavourable orientation toward global education initiatives might significantly affect their engagement in internationalising the curriculum. The purpose of this study was to develop the Motivation for Internationalizing Curriculum Scale (MICS), which aims to assess college professors' motivation toward internationalising the curriculum. The MICS was informed by Herzberg's two-factor motivation theory, involving intrinsic (motivator) and extrinsic (hygiene) factors of motivation. The MICS includes 20 items, and was administered to a national random sample of 418 college professors in the United States. Cronbach's coefficient alpha values were .90 for intrinsic motivation, .92 for extrinsic motivation, and .94 for the final 20-item MICS total scale. All 20 items in the newly developed scale have excellent Cronbach's alpha values. The findings revealed that a combination of dominant intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors may influence faculty's motivation to internationalise their curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents information on civic engagement at colleges and universities in the U.S. The author looks at the Tisch College for Active Citizenship at Tufts University, the service requirement for students at Tulane University, and the DukeEngage program at Duke University. The article also discusses the role of public service in U.S. higher education.

Since its debut in 1983, the U.S. News & World Report College Guide has become the premier 'consumer report' of higher education. We find that peer assessment, which is the largest component of the U.S. News & World Report ranking function, contains a penalty for religiously affiliated schools that is independent of the other U.S. News & World Report variables and several proxies for quality. Possible explanations of the religious penalty include taste-based discrimination, perceived differences in the quality of the curriculum, and strategic voting by college administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the American Democracy Project. The story of the American Democracy Project is not only about what has happened but how little the outcomes have reflected the initial planning. Change in higher education comes about in many unanticipated ways. The first major deviation from the original plan was a call by participating institutions for regional meetings. Campus leaders knew that they needed to get more members of the campus community involved, and regional meetings were a cost-effective way of engaging a larger campus audience. For all the exciting and often unanticipated new developments and the astonishing number of activities, serious challenges remain. One is the aspirational nature of higher education. Many faculty on the American Association of State Colleges and Universities campuses, despite their institutions' focus on teaching, still emphasize conventional models of faculty work, particularly traditional models of scholarship. That is the professional role they learned to adopt in their doctoral programs and see honored at the most prestigious campuses. As a consequence, the scholarship of engagement and work in communities is generally not rewarded. Yet if civic engagement does not take hold in the curriculum and in the work of faculty, it will always be marginalized in the academy.

Deals with a study which discussed the curriculum guidelines for the Bachelor of Science degrees in statistical science in the United States. Historical background of the study; State of undergraduate programs in statistics; Recommendations for the statistics curriculum.

Describes a racial diversity awareness course included in the curriculum of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Objectives of the course; Discussion on cultural diversity; Classroom activities; Course requirements.

This article suggests a list of software engineering topics appropriate for the introductory computer science courses, CS-1 and CS-2. Teaching issues arising from the incorporation of this material include course, project and team organization and activities. Many of the ideas noted here have been applied successfully in our CS-2 class at the University of Texas at Austin. Descriptions of sample projects and courses from the literature illustrate ways other faculty have integrated these approaches. Problem areas such as course organization and handling team problems are discussed and a bibliography of resources is included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]