Describes the process of selecting and developing a debate team at the University of New South Wales (Australia) to compete in an international Modern Standard Chinese debating competition. Discusses issues in selecting team members, training needs and strategies (particularly self-directed learning), time pressure, and the success of the…

A college teacher and student describe the rationale behind collaborative test taking and their efforts to implement it in a freshman English course. The approach, in which students learn to work collaboratively from the beginning of the course, allows participants to solve problems related to a writing task and teaches real-world work skills.…

Discusses future trends affecting school business management, including greater state funding and involvement in policy issues, increased competition from alternative schools, controversy over vouchers, new educational technologies, fewer specialized administrator training programs, expanded educational services, integrated social services, and…

Since public schools have been largely unable to address gender-based academic achievement inequalities and often ignore sexual-harassment incidents, there has been increasing discussion and study of all-girl classes and schools. Several studies have shown promising results--especially for science classes. Programs in Maine, Virginia, San…

A survey of 1,499 graduate business students at 7 colleges and universities investigated perceptions of potential benefits of an advanced degree, and their relationships with degree type, school size/type, and student characteristics. Five perceived benefits included research and analytical skills, competitive advantage, monetary reward, career…

A study of Chinese and U.S. business students' perceptions of their education identified differences that have significant implications for China's efforts to move from a centrally planned to a socialist market economy. Five scales (creativity, usefulness, interaction, effort, and focus) showed significant differences between the young people in…

The president of a vastly profitable virtual education corporation asserted that customers flock to him, not for an education, but for the material comforts that an education provides. Compelled by technology and supported by the World Trade Organization, such huge credentialing agencies employ lowpaid contractors to dish out homogenized info…

Online education has become a highly debated topic. While some educators see it as a commercialized and prepackaged form of education, one that limits the verbal skills of students, others see it as breaking down the geographical and financial barriers that many students face. Online delivery has changed education in a number of ways, increasing…

A case study of parental involvement in a seventh grade interdisciplinary activity, called "International Fair," at a Middle School is described and interpreted. The International Fair, the culmination of the work of student groups, involved students preparing booths representing the cultures of different countries and dressing up in…

The goal theory of achievement motivation maintains that the goals stressed by schools influence children's self-efficacy and willingness to try hard. This paper examines the applicability of goal theory to a Navajo school and community and widens the focus to encompass a range of potential culturally relevant goals. Interviews were conducted at…

On January 31, 1996, Pioneer Institute Executive Director James A. Peyser delivered an address to the Boston Economic Club, in which he proposed radical reforms to the structure of public education. This publication contains an edited transcript of the speech. The speech argues that after 30 years of stagnation and decline, only fundamental…

This booklet contains descriptions of the approach of each state member of the Action Team on Lifelong Learning in meeting the challenge to prepare and upgrade the skills of the work force. Each one-page discussion is followed by the name, address, and telephone number of a contact person in the state. The reported approaches of 10 states…

This report proposes that state economic development policy and resources, and state personnel, with their knowledge of and access to the business community, can contribute to the intertwined issues of competitiveness and poverty. Following an introduction, chapter 2 examines four related issues: poverty, income equity, welfare dependency, and the…

To assist the Competitiveness Policy Council in drawing up this report, four of the Council's eight subcouncils were asked to provide their assessment of recent federal initiatives and to make any new recommendations that seemed appropriate. The participating subcouncils were Critical Technologies, Public Infrastructure, Trade Policy, and…

The National Advisory Commission on Work-Based Learning worked to identify practical steps that the Labor Department could take to help increase the skill levels of the U.S. work force and expand work-based training. The findings gained from a series of roundtables and further studies were synthesized into a set of recommendations in five major…