This quasi-experimental study evaluated the effects of levels of participation and award structure of science fairs on elementary students' attitudes toward science and interests in science. Fifth grade students participated in one of four science fairs: mandatory/competitive, mandatory/noncompetitive, voluntary/competitive, or…

This paper suggests that libraries are losing market share and can address external threats from competition through unique partnerships and technological innovation. The concepts of competition, technological discontinuities, and innovation are discussed. The following four projects at the Scholarly Communication Center (SCC) of the Rutgers…

This paper describes the United States' first public voucher program, which was launched in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1990. It discusses the three phases that school competition has undergone in the Milwaukee Public School (MPS) district. These phases are a period of minimal competition from 1990-95, the passage of new charter-school legislation…

Each year the Constitutional Rights Foundation creates a mock trial that addresses serious matters facing young people. This year the lesson confronts the recent shootings at U.S. schools and the subsequent criminal trials. The nature of such violence and its causes including unresolved peer conflict, questions of responsibility, peer pressure,…

In September 2002, the California Legislature adopted Supplemental Report Language (SRL) directing the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to convene a task force to examine alternative delivery systems for the State's Cal Grant program. This report responds to that legislative request. The recommendations contained in this report…

This dissertation investigates the effects of two different grouping strategies on secondary students concerning their preparation for, and performance at, a computer programming contest. Students were divided into two groups, experimental and control, for a 3-week treatment, followed by the contest. Students in the experimental group became…

A six-week course of study is outlined to prepare students for solo competition. Objectives are: to develop creativity; establish positive attitudes towards learning; encourage repeated public performances; teach students to apply previously learned information; develop interpretive independence; and expose students to information concerning the…

The effects of outcome (winning, losing, no outcome) of leisure participation on leisure needs were investigated. Study of 438 male and female competitive and recreational basketball players indicated that successful and unsuccessful leisure experiences strongly shaped subjects' needs for leisure participation. (CJ)

As a result of faculty discussion and study in 1977, Scarsdale High School discontinued the practice of reporting numerical class rank to colleges, and began to report rank by decile. The practice of reporting rank-in-class information to colleges was abolished after a survey of colleges. (MLW)

Foreign Language Exploration Competition Day consists of competitive activities for junior high school students of French, German, and Spanish. Students choose from a list of 17 contests and 7 prepared displays requiring students to use language skills learned in the classroom. Awards include ribbons, certificates, and a trophy. (MSE)

Recent enrollment shifts and current knowledge of the dynamics of competition in higher education are examined. Results of a study identifying several structural characteristics of competing college groups in New York State are reported and implications for future enrollment patterns there and elsewhere are discussed. (Author/MSE)

American youth sport has changed in the past few years to incorporate females into programs once reserved for males. Research into the physiologies of females supports the fact that no evidence exists for the segregation of children into gender-determined groups for athletic participation. (JN)

Describes a "High School Science Bowl" organized by the University of Tennessee at Martin Chapter of American Chemical Society Student Affiliates. The contest consists of two parts: a preliminary written test of 25 objective questions from biology, chemistry, general science and an afternoon session patterned after television's "College Bowl."…