Knowledge and the Educative Functions of a University: Designing the Curriculum of Higher Education.

Overview & Synopsis

Examination of almost any university's curricular goals or expectations and the actual courses taken by particular students demonstrates significant discrepancies between the rationale and the actuality and between the intentions of general or specialized education and the knowledge made available in the courses taken. A major reason for the existence of these discontinuities lies with the assumption that the organization of the curriculum of higher education should be done in the same manner that the university organizes to do its research and knowledge production. This essay sets forth a plan for organizing the curriculum of higher education that takes into account the difference between academic or disciplinary knowledge and mission-oriented or practical knowledge. This plan is oriented around four types of mission-oriented knowledge: knowledge required as a citizen and human being (servicing the general education function); knowledge required for a specialty or profession; knowledge required to conduct research and advance knowledge itself; and knowledge pertaining to the education of people in these four domains. Contains nine references. (GLR)