Null 2011:211 states, "A deliberative tradition assumes there is a body of principles, arts, and

methods that should serve as the foundation for any educational program whether it's found in

K-12 schools or in universities."

Core curriculum is a concept that holds together communities within the educational community.

Those who believe in the core curriculum believe that there are types of knowledge and ways of

thinking that should be taught as a basis of what constitutes an educated person in any

community.

There are forms of knowledge which are offered in the university academic discipline subjects

which are part of the core curriculum are mathematics, history, language and literature, science

and foreign languages. It all depends on the texts chosen by the school or university and not the

subjects.

This interdisciplinary approach, selects textbooks that all students must read as core curriculum

that holds the school together.

Regardless of what constitutes a core curriculum, the goal is to provide students with similar

experiences, ways of thinking and forms of communication that holds them together as a

community.

To provide better curriculum in the sciences colleges and universities, there should be a

leadership position of Associate Dean for undergraduate curriculum to oversee/supervise

undergraduate core curriculum.

With reference to Northern State University. Null 2011:220 states "Provost Fitzgerald

nevertheless, recognizes that institutionalizing a balance between teaching and research is

critical if he hopes to establish a core curriculum that will last."

Northern State University, is a teacher’s college but now a research university enrolling forty

thousand students. It has nine academic units comprising the college of Arts, and sciences,

school of engineering, music, pharmacy and nursing.

Dr. Martin Fitzgerald, the Provost of NSU, re-established a core curriculum, alongside the

existing curriculum to build a high-quality core curriculum. Thus, balancing teaching with

research. also increase focus on undergraduate curriculum and teaching.

(Null 201:222) states, "A study of American colleges and universities to determine the extent to

which they require all students to complete courses in seven core subjects, composition,

literature. Foreign languages, U.S. government or history, economics, mathematics, natural and

physical sciences. Rated every major college and university based on how many subjects are

required of students to take ACTA American Council of Trustees and Alumni. “These institutions

were graded on a scale of A to F. Out of seven hundred colleges and universities, ACTA studied

only about sixteen scored grades of A. Many of the famous universities in the country did not

score well, notably, Harvard scored a grade of D. The study indicates that core curriculum has

not been emphasized in most of the prestigious universities. Recently, the reverse is the case.

Universities are now paying attention to the core curriculum.

References

Null, W. (2016). Curriculum: From theory to practice: Vol. 2nd edition. Rowman & Littlefield

Publishers.