Self-Evaluation of Criminal Justice Curricula

Abstract

Criminal justice education is in the throes of confusion as to the most appropriate curriculum and the most viable means of evaluation. Accreditation guidelines have been established, yet to impose these standards on what seems to be a disorganized discipline would be an exercise infutility. The proposal in this article isfor the implementation of an objective self-evaluation of curriculum through Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. A pilot study evaluating and comparing the criminal justice courses of three universities shows that Bloom 's Taxonomy is a viable selfevaluation tool with manifest and latentfunctions. The implementation of a standard method of evaluation is a necessary intermediate step toward external evaluation and accreditation.