Current issues in the teaching of population

Teach Notes Popul. 1972 Spring-Summer:1:4-13.

Abstract

PIP: There has been an explosion in recent years of student interest in population problems stimulated by a growing awareness of the magnitude and rapidity of population increase in general and by increasing concern for environmental consequences of population growth in particular. Now the time has come to reassess the teaching of population problems within undergraduate education. 1 of the problems of teaching demography is that it is of a very technical nature and has a heavy emphasis on facts and figures. A 2nd problem is that many institutions of higher learning do not offer courses in formal learning. The study of demography has been transformed from 1 that involves theory to 1 that is preoccupied with policy aspects of population change. In addition, the issues related to population have been distributed among the natural, physical and social sciences resulting in a narrow approach to the problems. The broader view of population-related issues needs to be taken both within the classroom and without.

MeSH terms

  • Demography*
  • Education*
  • Population Control*
  • Public Policy
  • Social Sciences
  • Students*