Group discussion can be very effective in building a sense of community in any adult basic education (ABE) classroom. Such discussion can generate conversation, encourage participation, and create an accepting environment where sharing experiences and ideas feels safe to all participants. When trying the technique of group discussion with a new…

This study examined the behaviors of intergenerational group members of an intergenerational program involving seven adult day care clients and seven preschool day care children. Coordinators of the program include a recreational therapist from the adult center and the children's teacher. The 14 "friends" met once a week for an hour. In this…

In the history of small group studies (in the field of communication theory and research), two factors contributed to the changes that led to Ernest Bormann publishing in 1970 his work questioning the value of the knowledge being reported and the appropriateness of the methods by which it was being generated. First, prior to 1965, a limited amount…

A study tested the hypothesis that the self-esteem of a group of six sixth graders would be raised through the employment of a bibliotherapeutic program. Self-esteem was measured before and after the program by the "Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory for Children Form A." The subjects, who were from low, average, and above average reading groups,…

One of the most important differences between American and Japanese cultures is the difference in group interaction. The Japanese have been described as group-oriented and Americans as individualistic. In Japan, groups are hierarchical and usually make decisions by consensus. Japanese groups play an important role in the lives of their members,…

Three critical factors in the Terrence E. Deal model for examining organizational climate and culture are values, rites and rituals, and communication networks, and these were assessed in a study of 80 graduate students to determine their perceptions of these elements in a university graduate program in Administration and Policy Studies (APS). The…

A study investigated the relationship between teaching style and group conflict within the small instructional group. The conjecture was that the transactional teaching style is associated with more positive resolutions to group conflict than either the nomothetic or idiographic style. Research was conducted on 10 instructional groups within the…

Habermas's theory of dialogue was used to evaluate the process of decision making that occurred in a labor-management committee's meeting to discuss flextime. The study attempted to determine why, at that meeting, the committee's consensus process of decision making failed. W.R. Bion's theory of unconscious group motives was also used to…

Annotations from 12 entries in the ERIC database were selected as significant and useful sources of information about small-group cooperative learning. Five of the citations are literature reviews. Among these is a meta-analysis, drawn from 217 studies, about the effects of cooperative learning on student achievement and interpersonal attraction;…

This is a manual for peer counselors and parents in an alcohol and drug abuse prevention program for teenagers. The document opens with the training objectives for the peer helpers: to know yourself, to be a resource, and to promote and establish a drug-free peer group and drug-free activities in school. Discussion on these topics is provided: (1)…

Chapter 15 of a revised volume on school leadership, this chapter defines and categorizes conflict and outlines techniques for its management in schools. Conflict, endemic to human existence, exists on many levels and assumes various forms. This chapter focuses on social conflict, or antagonistic interaction between individuals or groups common to…

Drawing from data generated in more than 100 hours of interaction within 15 leaderless groups, a study investigated the interaction characteristics of emergent leadership--leadership that is earned through face-to-face encounters in a group. Each group was instructed to reach consensus decisions on two tasks, both of which provided the possibility…

Intended for anyone approaching parliamentary procedure for the first time, this booklet is designed to provide a lucid explanation of parliamentary rules and the reasons for them. Chapter 1 discusses organizations, considering such things as bylaws, officers' titles, impartiality of the chair, boards, and committees. The second chapter--on the…

Three Student Team Learning techniques have been extensively researched and found to significantly increase student learning. In Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD), teams are made up of high, average, and low performing students of both genders and different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Team members study worksheets, work problems in…

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK), characterized by disguises, secrecy, bigotry, and terror, came into power in the South after the Civil War. In some parts of the country the KKK, an extreme example of pathological group process, appears as strong and violent today as ever. Fromm (1941) noted that the basis of group psychology is the individual personality…