"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

This chapter considers the design of incentive pay systems for teachers and principals and the challenges facing policy makers who seek to design them. The author argues that policy makers must direct the efforts of teachers and principals toward schools' mission--the acquisition of skills and knowledge among children--and must find ways to link…

Background: Coaches and physical educators must obtain valid data relating to the contribution of each of their players in order to assess their level of performance in team sport competition. This information must also be collected and used in real game situations to be more valid. Developed initially for a physical education class context, the…

Innovation is crucial to the competitiveness of the economies of Europe, and learning is crucial to innovation. The most important trend shift is not that knowledge is becoming more important but that it is becoming obsolete more rapidly than before, so that firms and employees constantly have to learn and acquire new competencies. This involves…

Supporters of public education fear attempts to privatize schools, while the private sector has always struggled against the monopolistic power of the public schools that educates almost 90% of all K-12 students. This trepidation has recently been intensified by the creation of a "third sector" that includes charter schools, voucher…

Exclusion of students from primary school has attracted only minimal attention from researchers. Exclusion has become an imprecise and confusing term. Exclusion can be of 3 types: fixed term (3 days or less), indefinite, and permanent. In England, education is increasingly becoming a quasi-market in that individual competitive organizations…

There is a growing dichotomy between the educational value of forensics versus the competitive aspects of individual events for both coaches and students. Competitive behavior has both an instinctual and a cognitive source. The instinctual source can be traced to evolution in a fiercely competitive world. Psychoanalytic theory suggests that the…

The amount of tournament competition in American forensics should be reduced and replaced with community-centered, audience-involving, service-oriented activities. Many forensics educators are distressed with the direction tournament debate has taken. It is increasingly insular, particularized, and isolated from the mainstream of campus life.…

The Northwest Forensic Conference (NFC) was created in response to decreasing budgets and fewer schools participating in forensics. The basis of the NFC is the designated tournament and yearly divisional sweepstakes awards. Special features of designated tournaments include oral critiques and seminars on forensic issues. Initially, it was assumed…

The game of chess is recommended as a school activity. In addition to requiring that individuals become actively involved in a mentally demanding competition, its effects are stimulating, wholesome, and healthy. Several benefits accrue from the teaching and promoting of chess in schools. Chess limits the element of luck (teaching the importance of…

This report includes reprints of a series of "Fireside Chats" which were offered as a preliminary to the symposium on women and sport. The following topics are covered: (1) "Closing the Gender Gap in Skills Acquisition in Children" (Linda M. Carson); (2) "Myths and Realities on Health and Wellness in Women's Athletics" (Sherrie Springer); (3)…

This booklet discusses issues important to organizing a gymnastics meet. Section 1 discusses meet procedures and duties in four separate categories: considerations affecting the decision to host a meet; duties or activities which must be completed to produce a meet; activities conducted during the meet; and post-meet responsibilities. Section 2…

The Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 makes it possible for competing newspapers to combine advertising, production, circulation and management functions into a single newspaper corporation. For the attorney general and the courts to authorize a joint operating agreement (JOA) for a "failing newspaper," certain conditions must be met…

A compilation of statements of the judging philosophies of the judges for the 1987 National Debate Tournament, this booklet presents the views of 132 college level coaches from institutions all across the country. The areas examined in the standard judge philosophy form include (1) personal preferences in regard to a decision making paradigm; (2)…

This book provides a comprehensive review of the branch of sport and exercise science that focuses on the psychological aspects of human behavior. Part I presents a general orientation to the field, including an introduction and description of sport psychology and a discussion of the history and current status of the field. Individual differences…