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A Century of Continuity and (Little) Change in the Undergraduate Political Science Curriculum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2006

JOHN ISHIYAMA ,
MARIJKE BREUNING  and
LINDA LOPEZ
JOHN ISHIYAMA
Affiliation:
Truman State University
MARIJKE BREUNING
Affiliation:
Truman State University
LINDA LOPEZ
Affiliation:
National Science Foundation
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Abstract

Although in recent years there has emerged a renewed interest in teaching and learning issues in the APSA, relatively little attention has been paid to the structure of the undergraduate political science curriculum. In this article we conduct a broad survey of articles that appeared in the APSR from 1906 to 1990 and find that (1) in the past the association paid much attention to the undergraduate political science curriculum; (2) over time attention shifted from a conception of the major as promoting substantive knowledge to a conception that emphasized skills; and (3) current concerns regarding skills, sequencing, and capstone experiences were all discussed several decades before the appearance of the “Wahlke Report” in 1991. We offer an explanation for the ebb and flow of the attention curricular issues received historically in the APSA, and suggest what the future may hold for current efforts to reexamine the structure of the undergraduate political science curriculum.

Type
“THE EVOLUTION OF POLITICAL SCIENCE” ESSAYS
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 100 , Issue 4 , November 2006 , pp. 659 - 665
Copyright
© 2006 by the American Political Science Association

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