Curriculum development in university mathematics departments : a case study

This study was an historical case study which attempted to answer some questions about mathematics curriculum development and the forces which influence it. This study was designed to investigate the changes which occurred in the mathematics curriculum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, during the period from 1973 to 1983 and to identify the forces (pressures) which were present and had an influence on the decisions to change the curriculum. Another aspect of this study was to determine whether the forces which were identified in the literature as stimulants of curriculum development were active stimulants in the development of the mathematics curriculum at the University of Tennessee.

The data for this case study were obtained from three major sources at the University—formal records of the Mathematics Department, chairmen of the Undergraduate Committees in the Mathematics Department from 1973 to 1983, and University records.

After the data were collected, they were grouped by academic year. Within each division, the curriculum development activities of the year were listed and analyzed, and the factors influencing these curricular revisions were identified. This resulted in an annotated record of processes and rationales which have been used to develop new undergraduate curricula and revise old curricula in the Mathematics Department. This annotated record was used to detect possible causes of changes in the mathematics curriculum.

It was concluded that the most frequent influences on curriculum change in the Mathematics Department at the University were the professors' perceptions of the student needs, requests and suggestions of other units of the University, academic administrators, and professors, in that order. Internal pressures influenced curriculum development much more than external pressures did. However, there was significant influence exerted by other departments. Several pressures which were cited in the literature did not seem to influence curriculum development in the Mathematics Department at the University. On the other hand, all the forces which were identified as pressures on curriculum development in the Mathematics Department at the University were cited in the literature. Thus, no additional stimulants of curricular revision and development were identified.