Compares the organization and effectiveness of public and private schools in New York (New York). Argues that successful schools have a large degree of autonomy and are accountable to their constituencies through the process of competition and choice. (FMW)

Questions value of the National Geography Bee proposed by the National Geographic Society because the public may see geography content as unrelated facts; students may not be motivated; and content can be trivialized. Encourages group competitions that focus on conceptual and regional themes combined with societal, environmental, and locational…

Describes biological competitions at the high school level in Poland. Argues that they can be used to enhance and maintain students' interest in the subject. (Author/YP)

In the newly competitive realm of higher education, strategic planning offers a systematic method for defining colleges and universities in order to enhance their strengths and market positions and to shape their futures. The focal elements of strategic planning and benefits and limits of strategic planning are discussed. (MLW)

Some of the basic principles involved in successfully managing organizational change in higher education are described. Change factors include: human resources demands, cost containment pressure, global competitive economic society, increasing technological innovation, and increasing capital investment requirements. (MLW)

Presents guidelines for a National Learning Infrastructure Initiative based on higher education's experience in national networking and telecommunications, including a systemic approach to instructional technology; precompetitive, object-oriented technologies and standards; prototypes that exhibit educational advantages; and leadership for change.…

The "postindustrial" environment for higher education, with shrinking revenues and enrollments and increasing competition, demands that all colleges and universities become more integrated organizations. Planning can be a powerful instrument for achieving better integration in highly differentiated academic organizations, and good organizational…

Discusses the history of Cherokee stickball, a ball game dating back at least to the 1500s that was once used (as an alternative to war) for resolving grievances between tribes and townships. Describes traditional aspects of Cherokee stickball and notes the steady decline of the game and its traditional rules and ceremonies. (LP)

Discusses three major consumer online services--America Online, CompuServe, and Prodigy. Topics include: Internet and Web browsers, alliances with cable and telephone companies, competition from Microsoft and other companies, and CD-ROM technology. A sidebar includes an interview with CompuServe's Barry F. Berkov. (JKP)

Nonpublic school educational choice proposals are largely derived from monetarist economic and social theory and exemplify right-wing privatization goals. The U.S. health care system has plenty of competition among insurers, hospitals, and doctors; but it is the most expensive, least equitable system in the industrial world. The mystical belief…

Discusses four truths about high school sports: rules of the game are unassailable, the purpose of the game is winning, teammates are people who depend upon one another, and coaches are people to trust. The educational value of school sport is the pursuit, not the attainment, of excellence. (SM)

Six case studies were conducted on the use of business games and simulations in higher education. Results showed that cognitive learning was greatly affected by particular approaches of students; competitiveness tends to have a negative effect on cognitive gains; and learning is enhanced by advance briefing and tutor involvement during the game.…

Rejecting the voucher concept for promoting unequal education, this article endorses the "public/private partnership" model of reinvented school governance. Under this system, teachers and administrators remain public employees but are managed by a private company. Jay P. Goldman's sidebar criticizes privatization schemes as unworkable…

Examines the vulnerability of distance teaching universities (DTUs) around the world to competition both from campus-based universities that are initiating distance teaching and from dual mode universities that have traditionally offered a range of teaching methods. Costs are considered, and the future feasibility of single mode universities is…

Triads composed of a mother and two children from either a nonadoptive or an adoptive family were observed in play settings in the home. Genetic factors were found to influence differences in sibling interactions and maternal interactions with siblings. Environmental factors also had an influence. (BC)