Data from 174 persons involved in French and Dutch community rescues of Jews during World War II revealed personal motivations based either on material, social, and religious norms or on social justice, each set linked to a distinct cognitive structure. However, organizational and supportive context factors were more significant than personal…

This study suggests that group viewing of television in a daycare setting can be used to encourage prosocial behavior in young children. Children (aged three to five years) participated in eight days of group viewing of videotaped segments of "Sesame Street," followed by participation in activities. (AEF)

This study examined the effects of discounting behavior ("put downs") on the quantity and quality of ideas produced by a group and on the group climate. Subjects were 52 college students divided into 8 groups. Groups in which discounting occurred produced significantly fewer ideas, and the emotional response to the group process was…

Examines the cultural assumptions about what makes an effective team member. Argues that educators typically design collaborative projects and evaluate student participants by using a Western mode of how people should behave in groups. Suggests pedagogical strategies to prepare students for collaborating with students from many cultures. (RS)

Critiques Boshier's normative model for adult education futures, which has three components: learner motivation, level of need, and future centeredness. Finds that the first two components encourage unnecessary conflict between individual and societal needs; recommends replacing "needs" with broadly based educational goals and…

This review includes recent research that manipulated features of cooperative learning as well as studies of the relationship between interaction in small groups and outcomes. The analysis examines the kinds of discourse that are productive for different types of learning and moves toward studies of task and interaction. (SLD)

Client adherence to culture-of-origin values plays an important role in the provision of culturally relevant psychological services. Lack of instruments that measure ethnic cultural values has been a shortcoming of past research. Describes development of an Asian Values Scale (AVS) used to measure psychometric measures in four studies. Results…

Observed functioning of same-sex triads of middle grade children during an intimate discussion, a cooperative puzzle task, a competitive game, and free play. Found that triads of girls were more intimate, exchanged more information, and were less aggressive than triads of boys. Girls and boys expressed similar attitudes toward triadic interaction,…

Recently, the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis at the University of Southern California conducted a national study of public higher education governing board performance. 130 board members, presidents, coordinating board officials, governors, legislators, and education department staff were interviewed about ways to improve performance…

Improving the quality of out-of-school time activities and creating effective learning environments is of keen interest to practitioners, funders and policymakers. Funded by The William Penn Foundation, "Quality Time After School" identifies characteristics of after-school activities that are linked to youth engagement and learning…

A total of 467 mothers of firstborn 20-month-old children from 7 countries (103 Argentine, 61 Belgian, 39 Israeli, 78 Italian, 57 Japanese, 69 Korean, and 60 US American) completed the "Jackson Personality Inventory" (JPI), measures of parenting cognitions (self-perceptions and knowledge), and a social desirability scale. Our first…

An ethnographic study explored how small groups of student readers interacted in a classroom over time to interpret short stories assigned by a teacher. For five weeks, eight sixth-grade volunteers met on consecutive Fridays in two separate face-to-face discussion groups to read, discuss, rewrite, and perform a short story as a play. Primary data…

The 76 tests in this bibliography include descriptions of measures examining the dynamics of functioning groups as a whole and other measures eliciting information concerned with group members on an individual basis. Although all ages are represented, the tests target primarily adults. This document is one in a series of topical bibliographies…

This study investigated the ways in which families operate as a unit while presenting a story to an interviewer, and the ways in which they interface with the outside world, as represented by the interviewer. A description of the study is preceded by an overview of relevant literature, including studies that concerned microsocial analyses, shared…

The concept of behavior settings--the environments shaping individual behavior--was originated by Roger Barker in 1950 in connection with his community surveys in a small Kansas town, code-named Midwest. This book seeks to provide rural social scientists with an understanding of Barker's eco-behavioral approach and proposed adaptations of it to…