In this article, the author looks at several popular international relations textbooks in light of his experience teaching students in the Middle East. He finds that, for their many strengths, most of the books lack some key features that would make them more useful for students abroad.

Higher education institutions today are increasingly considered to be "means," serving as suppliers for employers, not "ends" that address "wicked" problems. This disregards their role in the generational succession of civil societies. Massive open online courses can strengthen higher education institutions by working…

Hyperspecialization in the disciplines and the rewards for that combined with the growing mantra for first job preparation are double threats to liberal teaching and learning. Given that circumstance, the sorts of synthetic lecture classes in the humanities and social sciences that once provided the foundations of liberal learning have evaporated.…

In 2009 and 2010, the author was involved in two University of Botswana initiatives on graduate employability. The first was a university-wide task force exploring the attitudes of students and staff and recommending reforms both in learning and teaching and in support services for students. The second was a Faculty of Humanities tracer study, in…

Liberal arts universities are under mounting pressure to maintain their position of relevance in an increasingly technological and economically competitive world, while professional journalism is steadily losing ground to social media. This essay argues that a new partnership between journalism schools and the academic community would be…

This article uses the case of Michigan State College (MSC) to reconsider understanding of reform in the general education movement. Using the lens of MSC, the author argues that reform in the general education movement operated in a matrix of influence that involved educational research, philanthropy, and (both inter- and intra-) institutional…

Coherence is a major focus of general education reform today; however, an examination of the history of higher education shows that interest in maintaining curricular coherence has fluctuated over the past 200 years and is best described as a swinging pendulum that alternates between periods of integration and fragmentation.

Although academic provision has become associated with professional education, knowledge is delivered through standard classroom methodology associated with liberal arts education. Elsewhere, a "practice turn" has elevated experience as a basis for knowledge. This article shows how practice became detached from theory and how through praxis they…

The author argues that access to education has been the central notion of distance education since its beginnings in 1892. He offers examples of current distance education programs, as well as advice for designing online general education learning communities. (NB)

Presents a history of undergraduate math-education programs and provides results of an action-research experience in a college-algebra course setting. Argues that historical record emphasizes interdisciplinary connections and applications of mathematics, and that present-day instructors should communicate the historical and practical reasons…

Discusses Lyotard's view of the narrative as a story through which meanings are legitimated. Reviews the development of the core curriculum of New York's Columbia College, arguing that it represents a "grand narrative" of the college. Discusses the effect of this narrative on students and faculty. (26 citations) (AJL)

Responds to Howley and Hartnett's article, which views the core curriculum at New York's Columbia College as an example of Lyotard's "grand narrative." Argues that the authors fail to note the negative effects of not considering other groups, such as women and minority groups, in a powerfully defining narrative. (AJL)

Examines the history of interdisciplinary studies over the last 30 years, reviewing the growth of interdisciplinary approaches and the structural forms that such programs have taken in higher education. Discusses implications of these changes for traditional disciplines. Highlights impediments to further change. (20 citations) (AJL)

Demonstrates, along with Franklin's versatility, the recurrence of some basic educational assumptions. Like many of today's educators, he proposes to include both practical and theoretical subjects in a design for higher education. First printed in 1749 in pamphlet form with extensive footnotes and copious citations from then-authoritative…

Article provided background information on the Chinese educational system and the rapid changes it has undergone in a much-disrupted period. (Editor/RK)