Diseases of the curriculum.

During the past 20 years the author has visited almost half of all the American medical schools, usually as a consultant in matters of curriculum and instruction. Certain recurring curriculum problems have emerged and have been described as "diseases of the curriculum." To be exact, this article includes nine such entities. In addition to the naming of these nine curriculum conditions, there is ample illustrative material to ensure that each curriculum disease is fully explained--although the basic sciences supporting the study of education as a discipline are not advanced enough to allow fuller understanding of the disease processes. There is speculation, however, that even being able to name and describe these disturbances of normal curriculum development might be of help in solving some of our more serious curriculum problems.