The ADA definition of disability reflects an historical shift from defining disability within the individual (the medical model) to constructing disability within the social environment (the socio-political or interactional model). Further, this shift reveals a movement away from paternalistic to empowering rehabilitation policies and service delivery systems. Similarly, academic programs in Rehabilitation are updating their undergraduate curriculum in ways that reflect changes that have taken place in public policy and service delivery related to disability, knowledge emerging from the field of disability studies, and a changing student demographic. Disability related rehabilitation research has not yet fully reflected this shift, and this has resulted in data and knowledge that are of limited utility. It has been well researched that negative attitudes toward individuals with disabilities held by rehabilitation professionals will limit the scope of services generated and provided by professionals and, ultimately, have a detrimental effect on a successful rehabilitation process. Knowledge about the ways that undergraduate students conceptualize disability may illuminate the content and origin of positive and negative attitudes and beliefs.The present study was a phenomenological examination of the framework students employed in conceptualizing, understanding and making meaning of the concept of disability. The study utilized in-depth interviews and students' course assignments in order to answer the question, "How do undergraduate students in disability related majors construct disability?" Data revealed six common themes which were: participants had difficulty defining the category of disability; disability was understood as an individual problem, requiring special accommodations, assistance and services; there was an altruistic desire among participants to challenge stereotypes surrounding disability, alongside limited self-awareness of the application of stereotypes in their own construction of disability; the meaning of disability was a reflection of participants' own identities; Concepts of opportunity, restraint, power and privilege had limited relationship with disability; and, motivation for professional practice was related to a desire to help those who need assistance. Suggestions were made relating to the undergraduate curriculum and future research.

Curriculum review projects ensure updated material that meets the needs of students and employers. Most projects report what was accomplished in terms of how the new curriculum will better meet these needs. Few studies have explored the curriculum change process from the faculty perspective. Few studies have explored the leadership of these projects, and very few studies have examined curriculum development processes in higher education from a faculty perspective. This case study allowed for in-depth exploration of the faculty experience of the curriculum development process, of the project's leadership, and of the perceptions of change held by faculty. Faculty members were interviewed about the project, and minutes from committee meetings as well as other departmental documents were used to triangulate faculty feedback to paint a comprehensive picture of the experience of these faculty development projects. First, the entire case study explores the range of responses faculty provided in their interviews. Themes that emerged included comments about the effectiveness of individual pieces of the program as well as extended discussion about the benefits of the opportunity to network among the committee about teaching and learning. Faculty reflected at length about the positive influence of the leaders and about their response to the amount of change required of them individually and of the department. Next, analytic induction of the interview data resulted in a match between the leadership data and transformational leadership. The leaders of this project used delegation to direct the energy of the committee, invited inclusive participation, and promoted a shared vision for the department. As successful change leaders, they were able to build on the existing relationships in the department to achieve more than they had originally planned. Finally, individual stories exemplify the experience of change for different faculty members. These exemplars demonstrate the full spectrum of response to change, from quick to join in to slow and even one faculty member who chose remove himself from the program. These individual cases explore the ways in which they have dealt with the innovation of curriculum change, changes in teaching and new ideas about assessment.

Over the course of the second half of the twentieth century, undergraduate degree requirements in the Faculty of Arts (later the Faculty of Arts & Science) at the University of Toronto were comprehensively reviewed and revised seven times. The records of these reviews demonstrate that the curricular changes of the second half of the twentieth century were substantial, reflecting attempts by curricular planners to shape the undergraduate program of study to accommodate broader social, economic, demographic, and epistemological changes. These changes therefore reflect the connections between the University and its local, provincial, and international communities. These substantial changes, however, are balanced by consistent and recurrent patterns in curriculum across this period as curricular planners sought ways to implement sustained curricular goals into a changed institutional environment and a changed curricular framework. Collectively, these reviews demonstrate that the U of T maintained a distinct approach to undergraduate education from the beginning of this period through the end. This approach, referred to here as the “Toronto Scheme,” is characterized by the belief that specialized study can lead to liberal education, and that students should have access to multiple pathways through the degree. This analysis of degree requirements over time has important implications for understanding higher education at the University of Toronto, in Canada, and internationally. Most importantly, this research helps to explain both the strong similarities and significant differences between American curricular structures and those in place at the U of T. Additionally, this study of curriculum provides valuable insight into the role of the U of T’s colleges in undergraduate instruction, further illuminating the effect of this relatively unique institutional structure on the history of the U of T. On a broader scale, the relationship indicated by this history of the curriculum between the U of T and other institutions in Ontario and Canada deepens our understanding of the nature of a Canadian system of or approach to higher education (or lack thereof). As such, the Toronto Scheme informs – and sometimes challenges – many of the assumptions currently made about Ontario, Canadian, and North American higher education.

The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate the competencies that a person who desires to teach should possess in order to be an effective classroom teacher. Identification of these competencies will be made from evidence obtained through a consensus of student's opinions, these opinions to be solicited from students currently enrolled in courses required for a major in elementary education, and from the consensus of faculty members who ware currently teaching these courses.

This research was in the area of self-directed learning, largely resulting from the researcher's experience with it whilst in Australia. However, the intent of this study was to consider factors which would affect the implementation of self-directed learning principles into the Philippine context. Education in the Philippines can be described as primarily engaged in the transmission of knowledge. The structure and culture of education in the Philippines is one that largely supports a teacher-directed learning environment. Students are conditioned to be dependent on teachers and are used to studying with the security of a clear structural plan with very limited opportunities to apply self-directed learning principles. This approach to education produces static knowledge and denies the expression and cultivation of the learner. Hence, there is a need to promote self-directed learning as part of the curriculum. In attempting to introduce self-directed learning (SDL) in the Philippines, it is important to analyse student and instructor characteristics which could influence the extent to which it is applied in the undergraduate university curriculum. This research project gathers in-depth information on the conduciveness of integrating self-directed learning in the undergraduate curriculum of De La Salle University (DLSU) in the Philippines. This exploratory study aimed to respond to the statement "What is the level of readiness for self-directed learning of undergraduate students from De La Salle University? What are the student's perceptions of education, their role in the educational process, the role of peers and the role of their instructors? What is the instructor's education orientation? What are the perception of instructors on the purpose of education, the nature of learners, characteristics of learning experiences, management of learning experiences, evaluation and the relationship between the educators and learners and between learners themselves? Are these perceptions similar and would it be possible to introduce self-directed learning principles to an undergraduate curriculum for traditional students in De La Salle University?" The response to these questions could be used in determining whether self-directed learning principles could in fact be applied in the Philippines, as well as determine the appropriate balance of pedagogical and andragogical instruction techniques. Twenty-three instructors and one hundred students from De La Salle University in the Philippines participated in the study. Instructors completed the Educational Orientation Questionnaire and students completed the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Survey. Follow up intewiews were also conducted to confirm findings resulting from the survey. Findings indicate that instructors have an orientation that is a combination of both pedagogical and andragogical techniques and that students perceive themselves as having self-directed learning readiness. As a number of learning situations already utilise andragogical and self-directed learning principles, the challenge is to promote and encourage SDL and implement it on a wider scope. Some recommendations have been included in this research on how to implement it in De La Salle University.

Over the course of the second half of the twentieth century, undergraduate degree requirements in the Faculty of Arts (later the Faculty of Arts & Science) at the University of Toronto were comprehensively reviewed and revised seven times. The records of these reviews demonstrate that the curricular changes of the second half of the twentieth century were substantial, reflecting attempts by curricular planners to shape the undergraduate program of study to accommodate broader social, economic, demographic, and epistemological changes. These changes therefore reflect the connections between the University and its local, provincial, and international communities. These substantial changes, however, are balanced by consistent and recurrent patterns in curriculum across this period as curricular planners sought ways to implement sustained curricular goals into a changed institutional environment and a changed curricular framework. Collectively, these reviews demonstrate that the U of T maintained a distinct approach to undergraduate education from the beginning of this period through the end. This approach, referred to here as the “Toronto Scheme,” is characterized by the belief that specialized study can lead to liberal education, and that students should have access to multiple pathways through the degree. This analysis of degree requirements over time has important implications for understanding higher education at the University of Toronto, in Canada, and internationally. Most importantly, this research helps to explain both the strong similarities and significant differences between American curricular structures and those in place at the U of T. Additionally, this study of curriculum provides valuable insight into the role of the U of T’s colleges in undergraduate instruction, further illuminating the effect of this relatively unique institutional structure on the history of the U of T. On a broader scale, the relationship indicated by this history of the curriculum between the U of T and other institutions in Ontario and Canada deepens our understanding of the nature of a Canadian system of or approach to higher education (or lack thereof). As such, the Toronto Scheme informs – and sometimes challenges – many of the assumptions currently made about Ontario, Canadian, and North American higher education.

East Tennessee State University (ETSU) has offered an undergraduate degree in public health for 60 years. Alumni survey data have documented that the majority of the graduates from this program enter the workforce [see accompanying commentary by Wykoff, et al. (1)]. To keep pace with ongoing changes in the workforce, the decision was made to completely review, and, as appropriate, revise and restructure the Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) curriculum.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:36:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ThiagoEAS_DISSERT.pdf: 5568054 bytes, checksum: 1f8c45069acb5b01e9bfb29de113c133 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-22 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / Most knowledge and techniques developed by mankind since ancient times had the main purpose to study and understand the various phenomena of Nature. Science, like one of these narratives, works as a translation, transcribing what, is systematically observed. Within the set of transformations on the modern sciences, the dialogue with related areas became quite narrow and, occasionally, functional, and the dialogue with non-related areas, in turn, does not takes place by any matters. The focus of this research is the teaching of Biological Sciences, and the undergraduate courses as strategic places to disseminate a broad understanding of Nature, that broadens the conceptual relations between different disciplinary axes, previously fragmented. In order to do so, I take a four-way metaphorical approach as a methodological construction base. Three of them proposed by Jo?l de Rosnay, represented by artifacts: The Telescope, The Microscope and the Macroscope. And finally, a proposition that complements the approach, that i named The Naked Eye. In Telescope, which allows a more general construct of a phenomenon, I discuss the teaching of Biological Sciences in Brazil. In the microscope, which allows us to analyze in detail a scenario, I construct a rank of the major courses in biological sciences and propose a discussion on the understanding of nature on the undergraduate programs. In Macroscope, who allows, at the same time, zoom in and out to the phenomenon observed, I call for a transdisciplinary dialogue, based on the authors Ilya Prigogine, Basarab Nicolescu, Henri Atlan and Bruno Latour, which can certainly contribute to the curriculum of the Biologists training programs, that builds knowledge pertinent to a complex observation of Nature. I complete the set of the quaternary reading and understanding of the world from the Naked Eye, as the first strategy of perception in our species. For this, I invite the philosopher of Nature Chico Lucas da Silva as my interlocutor / Desde tempos antigos a maioria dos saberes e t?cnicas desenvolvidas pela humanidade tiveram como prop?sito compreender e estudar os fen?menos da natureza. A ci?ncia, como uma destas narrativas, funciona como instrumento de tradu??o, transcrevendo aquilo que, sistematicamente ? observado. Como parte do protocolo das ci?ncias modernas, as Ci?ncias Biol?gicas compreendem um meti? de saberes e t?cnicas que se disp?em a estudar os fen?menos da vida. Mas n?o s?. Dentro do conjunto das transforma??es que passam as ci?ncias modernas o di?logo com ?reas correlatas tornou-se bastante estreito e pontualmente funcional, enquanto que, por sua vez, o di?logo com ?reas n?o correlatas tornou-se inexistente. Nesta pesquisa problematizo o ensino de Ci?ncias Biol?gicas como lugar estrat?gico para construir uma compreens?o de natureza que amplie as rela??es conceituais entre diferentes eixos disciplinares, anteriormente fragmentados. Para isto, tomo como base quatro vias de aproxima??o metaf?ricas para problematizar a forma??o do bi?logo no Brasil. Tr?s delas propostas por Jo?l de Rosnay, representadas pelos artefatos: O Telesc?pio, O Microsc?pio e O Macrosc?pio. E por fim, uma proposi??o complementar que intitulo o Olho Nu. Por meio da met?fora do Telesc?pio, que permite construir um olhar mais geral sobre um fen?meno, trato do ensino de Ci?ncias Biol?gicas no Brasil. Por meio da met?fora do Microsc?pio, que permite analisar o detalhe, construo um ranking dos principais cursos de Biologia e proponho uma discuss?o sobre as compreens?es de natureza que fundamentam a forma??o do bi?logo. Por meio da met?fora do Macrosc?pio, que permite religar e distanciar a parte e o todo de um fen?meno observado, problematizo as bases para um di?logo transdisciplinar tendo como refer?ncia autores como Ilya Prigogine, Basarab Nicolescu, Henri Atlan e Bruno Latour. Completa esse conjunto quatern?rio de met?foras uma leitura e compreens?o do mundo a partir do Olho Nu, como estrat?gia de uma percep??o mais pr?xima da natureza. A refer?ncia para este dom?nio ? o fil?sofo da natureza Chico Lucas da Silva

Developers build an entire software by writing quality code, the failure of which can risk organizational reputation, financial wellbeing, and even the lives and security of people. The ability to develop high quality code is therefore a key learning goal of foundational undergraduate computing programmes. However, how effective these undergraduate computing curriculums are in teaching software code quality is a matter of concern as this leads to raising the knowledge of future software developers. Right now, there is a lack of models to evaluate this effectiveness of undergraduate curriculum in providing the knowledge of software code quality to students.In this thesis, we suggest a model for evaluating the effectiveness of undergraduate curriculum in teaching software code quality, which we call ScQUc (Software Code Quality in Undergraduate Curriculum). Our goal is to raise the knowledge and awareness of teaching software code quality in education and make the undergraduate computing curriculum more software code quality centric.Due to the fact that there is a lack of models for evaluating the effectiveness of undergraduate curriculum in teaching software code quality, we had no closely related work to base our research on. We had to rely on other works related to code quality in programming courses that were indirectly connected to our research field. Hence, we dare infer that the ScQUc model was created from scratch.The research method used was qualitative and followed the frame of design science. Data collection was conducted via literature study and via interviews with two experts in the field. The interviewees were selected with the convenience sampling method enhanced with a predefined selection criterion. Data evaluation, on the other hand, was conducted using an evaluation model. The evaluation model included the following evaluation criteria: (1) interviewee credibility, (2) correctness, (3) flexibility, (4) usefulness and (5) experience. One round of interview was conducted with each of the interviewees which resulted in the improvement of the ScQUc model.The ScQUc model consists of a checklist of code quality characteristics and a sequence of activities to be conducted in order to evaluate the effectiveness of an undergraduate curriculum in teaching software code quality. The results of the evaluation of the ScQUc model inferred that the ScQUc model was correct and useful for the academia. Hence, we believe that the ScQUc model is a valid solution for evaluating the effectiveness of undergraduate curriculum in teaching software code quality. Still, however, the ScQUc model needs further evaluation and extension in form of specifications aiding deeper understanding of code quality, how to teach code quality, and to what extent to teach code quality. / Utvecklare bygger hela programvaran genom att skriva kvalitetskod, vars fel kan riskera organisatoriskt rykte, ekonomiskt välbefinnande och till och med människors liv och säkerhet. Förmågan att utveckla kod av hög kvalitet är därför ett viktigt inlärningsmål för grundläggande grundutbildningsprogram. Hur effektiva dessa läroplaner för grundutbildning är för att undervisa programkodkvalitet är emellertid en oro eftersom det leder till att kunskapen hos framtida programutvecklare ökar. Just nu saknas modeller för att utvärdera denna effektivitet i grundutbildningen för att ge studenterna kunskap om mjukvarukodkvalitet.I den här avhandlingen föreslår vi en modell för att utvärdera effektiviteten för grundutbildningen i undervisning av programkodkvalitet, som vi kallar ScQUc (Software Code Quality in Undergraduate Curriculum). Vårt mål är att öka kunskapen och medvetenheten om att undervisa programvarukodkvalitet i utbildningen och göra grundutbildningsberäkningen mer programvarukodkvalitet centrerad.På grund av bristen på modeller för att utvärdera effektiviteten i grundutbildningen i undervisning av programvarukodkvalitet, hade vi inget nära besläktat arbete att basera vår forskning på. Vi var tvungna att lita på andra verk relaterade till kodkvalitet i programmeringskurser som indirekt var kopplade till vårt forskningsområde. Därför drar vi slutsatsen att ScQUc-modellen skapades från grunden.Den använda metoden var kvalitativ och följde ramverket för designvetenskap. Datainsamlingen genomfördes genom litteraturstudie och genom intervjuer med två experter på området. Intervjuerna valdes med hjälp av metoden för provtagning av bekvämlighet förbättrad med ett fördefinierat urvalskriterium. Datautvärdering genomfördes å andra sidan med hjälp av en utvärderingsmodell. Utvärderingsmodellen inkluderade följande utvärderingskriterier: (1) intervjuarens trovärdighet, (2) korrekthet, (3) flexibilitet, (4) användbarhet och (5) erfarenhet. En intervjuomgång genomfördes med var och en av de intervjuade som resulterade i förbättringen av ScQUc-modellen.ScQUc-modellen består av en checklista med egenskaper för kodkvalitet och en sekvens av aktiviteter som ska genomföras för att utvärdera effektiviteten hos en grundutbildningsprogram i undervisning av programkodkvalitet. Resultaten av utvärderingen av ScQUc-modellen drar slutsatsen att ScQUc-modellen var korrekt och användbar för akademin. Därför tror vi att ScQUc-modellen är en giltig lösning för att utvärdera effektiviteten för grundutbildningen i undervisning av programvarukodkvalitet. Men ändå behöver ScQUc-modellen ytterligare utvärdering och utvidgning i form av specifikationer som hjälper djupare förståelse för kodkvalitet, hur man undervisar i kodkvalitet och i vilken utsträckning man ska lära ut kodkvalitet.

This study investigates two undergraduate curriculum programs at Bishop College in Dallas, in an effort to determine their effects upon selected groups of graduates, as measured in selected areas of their achievement before and after graduation. Conclusions of this study are as follows: 1. Neither curriculum program has attained a statistically significant degree of greater efficiency over the other in areas of students' undergraduate academic achievement, concepts of self and undergraduate academic experiences, and career involvement after graduation. 2. More stringent measurement than that of this study could possibly reveal that the Experimental Curriculum attained greater results to a statistically significant degree in more areas than did the Regular Curriculum. 3. Through achievement of a higher percentage of student retention, the Experimental Curriculum has attained greater effectiveness than the Regular Curriculum. 4. A need exists for increased relevancy of curriculum experiences to community problems. 5. A need exists for increased emphasis upon the student's development of effective self-expression and adequate self-confidence.