Reviews research on instructional methods designed to operationalize the principal elements of Allport's contact theory of intergroup relations. These cooperative learning methods, which employ ethnically mixed learning groups who are rewarded for learning as a group, have had positive effects on intergroup relations and on the academic…

Team-learning interventions may improve intergroup relations within a desegregated classroom, but their effects are lessened outside of the school setting. Research suggests that generalized outgroup acceptance will be produced by (1) an interpersonal orientation toward team members; and (2) the assignment of persons to teams on the basis of their…