Over the past ten years, the Department of Chemistry at the University College of the Fraser Valley has sponsored an annual laboratory skills contest for local Grade 12 high-school students as part of its Chemistry Week celebrations. The organizational details of the contest, its objectives, successes, and short-comings are discussed. (Contains 1…

Since the well-known failures of many experimental colleges and programs in the 1960s and 1970s, policymakers and scholars are often cynical about the possibilities for organisational innovation, particularly within public universities. Public university innovation is possible, however, when organisational actors seek to institutionalise reform…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and its reports are a key measure in informing the nation on how well the goal of scientific literacy for all students is being met. The "Science Framework for the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress" sets forth the design of the NAEP Science Assessment. The 2011 NAEP…

In the last three decennia, many governments have introduced market mechanisms in education. They have done so by enhancing parental choice and encouraging school competition, through policies like abolishing catchment areas, creating voucher programmes and setting up charter schools. These market mechanisms have given rise to fierce debates in…

Background: Researchers have largely attributed achievement gaps between different groups of students in the United States to differences in resources, parent education, socioeconomic status (SES), and school quality. They have also shown how, through their "cultural productions," certain students may disadvantage themselves. Focus: This article…

The "PISA 2006 Science Literacy Assessment" results report Finland as the first ranked country out of the 30 developed nations that participated in the testing (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2007). The United States was ranked 21st. Closer examination of school and student variables may help explain these…

From tuition vouchers for private schools to charter schools to voluntary transfer programs within and between public school systems, school choice has been at the center of the school reform debate for two decades. But with the voucher movement unable to sustain much momentum, charter schools still serving a small percentage of the nation's…

This study develops a comprehensive theoretical framework regarding the evolution of the class divide in postsecondary education. I conceptualize three prototypes of class inequality--effectively maintained, declining, and expanding--and associate their emergence with the level of competition in college admissions. I also unearth the twin…

What creates the "one-and-done" scenario is the National Basketball Association (NBA) rule that prohibits a player from graduating from high school and going directly to the NBA. The league's obviously cynical and self-interested rule prohibits a prospect from signing to play before at least one year has elapsed. In contrast, Major League…

Grounded in social cognitive theory, this study examines how a combination of personal, behavioral and environmental factors among youth populations correspond with attitudes toward competition, concern for material items, and the effects of advertising practices in the United States. Of particular interest was whether school-sponsored sports…

Objective: To assess the perceptions of rural and urban Costa Rican adolescents regarding which barriers and motivators affect their adoption of an active lifestyle. Design: Data were collected in focus group discussions. Participants: 108 male and female adolescents aged 12 to 18 from the 7th to 11th grades. Setting: Two urban and 1 rural high…

In the political discourse, the idea that organising continuing education according to the rules of the market would improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of continuing education programmes is gaining significance. In this article, we endeavour to subject some elements of this fundamental option in continuing education policy to an…

In volleyball officiating, two areas of concern are overlapping and ball-handling calls. Overlapping involves the illegal positioning of players during the contact of the serve by the server. It is imperative that officials be able to recognize overlapping violations in order also to recognize back line player violations. Consistency in ball…

A description is given of the Junior High "Brain Bowl", an academic competition based upon the television format used in the "College Bowl". Two teams of six players each are asked questions by a moderator. The first team to answer correctly wins two points. Incorrect answers result in a loss of a point. The game is played over a period of three…

A study examined the effect of market structure on suburban newspaper circulation and existence, specifically investigating whether the structure of the central city newspaper market influences the following: (1) the existence of a weekly or bi-weekly suburban newspaper; (2) the existence of a daily suburban newspaper; and (3) the circulation of…