Studies of primary education within the UK have shown that small groups can feature within classrooms; however, equivalent research within secondary education remains scarce. Research has established effective group work approaches, yet secondary teachers may encounter difficulties employing approaches tied to parameters embedded within primary…

The purpose of this research was to study the characteristics of the intragroup relations between the middle-status adolescents in a student group and the other status categories. It is assumed that the social and psychological portrait of an open adolescent student group, the character of the orientation and the level of its development, and the…

Examines the nature of development of a self-analytic seminar through stages and its impact on sex-role stereotypes and gender interactions among participants and with the seminar leaders. Explores relationships between feminist thought and psychoanalysis and supports the positive influence on recognition of mutual needs among the sexes.…

Rated selected sessions of two long-term psychotherapy groups (N=143) using Gottschalk-Gleser anxiety and hostility verbal content analysis scales. Found group judged to be clinically more successful demonstrated prolonged periods in various states and that affect dimensions of states were consistent with group developmental stage hypothesis…

An observational field study documents the early appearances of group behaviors in different age groups of preschool children in communal settings in Israel. (CM)

Two social psychological theories--similarity theory and equity theory--are employed to elucidate the relationship between group members' abilities and group performance on tasks involving high levels of interdependence. Contrasting hypotheses are drawn regarding specific ability compositions that should evoke performance above or below the simple…

Findings of a study that examined the relationship between classroom orientation and sociometric patterns within the classroom are presented in this paper. Methodology involved observation of 12 classrooms in Ontario and administration of two survey instruments to 20 fourth-year students. Classroom orientations were categorized as cooperative,…

Classroom discourse is evaluated for the contribution it can make to students' learning in groups. Data recorded from primary age children working at computers are categorized as exploratory, cumulative, and disputational talk. The teacher's role in making explicit strategies that optimize exploratory talk is discussed. (Contains 31 references.)…

The spoken language occurring when primary school children work in groups at the computer was examined. Findings suggest that discourse accompanying highly structured software conforms well to the initiation/response/follow-up (IRF) structure, with the computer often taking the initiating role. The more open-ended the program, the more…

This research summary reports on a 4-month long study of 30 children, ages 10-13, who live at the elementary boarding school on the island of 'Ua Pou, Marquesas Island, French Polynesia. Of the sample of 15 boys and 15 girls, 20 of the children are from a single small valley. Follow-up studies also were done of the families of these children. The…