Missions of the College Curriculum
The "Missions of the College Curriculum" refers to a pivotal report published by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 1977, which addressed concerns about the declining general knowledge and analytical skills of American college students during the 1970s. The report highlighted the inadequacies of general education requirements, describing them as a "disaster area" and advocating for a more coherent and structured core curriculum that reflects the unique contributions of higher education institutions. In the context of shifting educational priorities that favored vocational training over general education, the Carnegie report called for a renewed focus on core curricula that would enrich students' intellectual development.
The document sparked significant dialogue among faculty and administrators regarding the importance of general education, emphasizing areas such as communication skills, literature, history, and the sciences. Following its publication, the report influenced curriculum reform efforts at various colleges and universities, leading to a revitalization of core requirements and a common educational experience. Additionally, it set the stage for ongoing debates about the nature of knowledge and the role of higher education in society, as seen in subsequent influential writings on the topic. Ultimately, the Missions of the College Curriculum played a crucial role in reshaping the goals and structure of undergraduate education in the United States.
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Missions of the College Curriculum
Identification Higher education national study
Date Published in 1977
This national study of higher education, published by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, called for the reform of general education courses in the typical undergraduate college major, emphasizing a variety of core curriculum courses to broadly educate students.
During the 1970’s, there was a growing concern about American students’ declining levels of general knowledge and analytical skills. General dissatisfaction with the condition of the learning environment in higher education led many institutions to seek ways to restore earlier curricular models and the values they embodied. In 1977, the Missions of the College Curriculum was published by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, a leading higher education think tank based in New York City. The report praised the careful development of the college major but referred to college general education requirements as a “disaster area.” At that time, general education curriculums were fragmented and incoherent. The report emphasized that the undergraduate core curriculum could serve as a major statement of each higher education institution’s unique contribution to the intellectual development of students. Furthermore, the report argued that general education courses deserved greater attention from colleges than had been paid in the previous decade.
During the 1960’s and 1970’s, most U.S. colleges and universities had moved away from an emphasis on general education or core programs in response to external pressures in order to allow students more freedom in course selection and to emphasize vocational and professional preparation. These developments largely eroded core curriculum programs as a central focus of U.S. higher education. In response to these developments, the Carnegie Foundation’s report called for structuring college courses as part of a new core curriculum initiative to contribute to the intellectual development of students and to reflect what higher education institutions considered important in their mission to American society. General education concerns should have a higher priority in colleges and universities, argued the foundation, so that curriculum content could be generated by sustained thought and institutional input and less as a consequence of current social trends and external pressures.
This report served as the basis for curriculum reform nationwide, such as the Harvard Core Curriculum Report of 1978. Faculty and academic administrators from the American colleges and universities engaged in dialogue, seeking to identify means for improvement of general education requirements. Examples of core curriculum areas include a concern with the way society gains and applies knowledge and an understanding of the universe, as well as emphasis placed on basic aptitude in communication skills, classical and modern literature, art, music, history, the social sciences, and mathematical, physical, and biological sciences. At most American four-year colleges and universities, the core curriculum amounted to approximately one-third of the undergraduate program during the 1970’s.
Impact
As a result of the Missions of the College Curriculum report, beginning in the late 1970’s, the pendulum began to swing back in favor of more developed core curriculum requirements in U.S. colleges and universities. The report also ushered in a period of intense debate on the issue, reflected in such books as Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind (1987) and Dinesh D’Souza’s Illiberal Education (1991), arguing for a specific core of knowledge that a student should master. Ultimately, the report influenced U.S. colleges and universities to pursue a common educational experience, develop a community of learners, provide opportunities for sharing of viewpoints and ideas, and encourage a discovery and transmission of knowledge to enhance intellectual growth.
Bibliography
Boyer, Ernest L. College: The Undergraduate Experience in America. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Missions of the College Curriculum. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1977.
Gaff, Jerry, and James Ratcliff, eds. Handbook of the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Comprehensive Guide to Purposes, Structures, Practices, and Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.