Despite the heightened popularity of entrepreneurship education, there remain open questions regarding best practices in co-curricular programs. Using the theory of planned behavior, the authors examine how students' intention is shaped to increase the likelihood of participation in entrepreneurship co-curricular programs. To the best of the…

Background: Middle school students elected to participate in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) extracurricular programs (EPs). Researchers examined and compared science motivation, STEM career identity, and STEM college confidence among participants and non-participants. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate…

This article reports on an ethnographic analysis of students who play chess at a mixed comprehensive school in England. The authors explore how children learn when playing chess and speculate about how the appeal of the game could be used by secondary teachers to improve English lessons.

Academic competitions are discussed as a means of motivating underachieving gifted students. Particularly recommended is the U.S. Academic Decathlon which forms teams based on grade point averages. Two case studies illustrate the program's value. The paper also considers the program's benefits for high achieving students and the role of team…

This study constructed questionnaire measures of cooperative and competitive orientations, and pilot-tested them with 1,176 elementary school-age 4-H members and non-members. A measure of parent support was also obtained from these children. Factor analyses revealed that competitive and cooperative learning orientations are orthogonal and not…

A teacher educator gives reasons why the vocational agriculture teacher should become involved in preparing his students for Future Farmers of America (FFA) contests and some steps and precautions he should take to successfully integrate FFA contests into the instructional program. (MF)

This document is designed to give teachers some ideas for classroom and school History Day activities. Available ERIC resources about National History Day are listed and a five-point plan to establish a school History Day is provided. Successful approaches to implementing History Day, from actual teachers' experiences, are detailed. A step-by-step…

Theme articles focus on FFA (Future Farmers of America) conventions and contests. They examine FFA as an extracurricular versus intracurricular activity, keeping competition in perspective, contests as student motivators, how a sponsor views FFA, improving the teaching of leadership, benefits of FFA participation, the needs of disadvantaged and…

Describes a competition involving political science honors students in which teams from Miami and Purdue universities prepared and delivered papers taking opposing positions on contemporary topics. Reviews the benefits of the project for students and their teachers and suggests ways similar benefits can be achieved using a student cluster approach…

In addition to hands-on learning in classrooms and work-related activities such as co-op, many CTE programs offer a career-focused student organization, known as a Career and Technical Student Organization, or CTSO. CTSOs have been touted as developing such characteristics as leadership and employability skills in students; however, there is…

The application of the principles of intramural athletic competition to stimulate outstanding academic performance is discussed in this paper. The implementation of an academic intramural competition based on student diversity, immediate recognition, fun, and meaningful prizes in a Texas high school is described. The program is based on the tenet…

Maintains that from kindergarten throught grade 12 students are bombarded by contests. Asserts that art teachers are asked to juggle learning objectives to meet criteria of the most recent contests. Provides recommendations for art teachers faced with decisions about participation in contests and other competitive programs. (CFR)

Science fairs are held in many elementary, junior high, and high schools. Typically they are thought of as a competitive event where students display science projects. Publications occasionally print accounts of successful science fairs, but these articles are usually based on opinions rather than on research. The purpose of this study is to…

A high school vocational education teacher who customarily had students participate in cocurricular competition through the Future Farmers of America examined students' feelings about competition. Students revealed that winning was not the only important factor, though they wanted to feel well-prepared before competing. They appreciated the…

Two participants in a delegation of computer professionals who observed computer education in China's primary and middle schools report on the status of computer equipment and books; the development of instructional technology; the teaching profession; and the role of computer centers and institutes in computer literacy and teacher training. (43…