This paper offers a synthesized review of the literature on student peer facilitator programs, in order to investigate and substantiate many of the ways in which peer facilitator programs extend and strengthen a guidance counselor's mission in the school. After an introductory discussion of the foundations and goals of successful peer facilitator…

In order to find out what a three-member peer group in freshman composition was discussing during their meetings and how--if at all--they talked about writing, their conversations about their first drafts for the class were taped and analyzed. Analysis showed that in addition to discussion of their drafts (text talk) and social chat (off-task…

Using ethnographic research techniques, a study examined the nature of the process whereby a three-member collaborative writing group responded to literature and to each other through a local area network (LAN) and also generated a group composition. The three subjects--of varied educational backgrounds--discussed questions associated with a novel…

Analysis of responses of 482 sixth graders, classified as either peer oriented or adult oriented, reveals that while the peer-oriented children generally conform to a socially undesirable peer subculture, they are unsatisfied and anxious about it. Sex differences are discussed and comparisons made with other research. (Author)

In a study of black students in five different essentially black schools, it was found that peer influence or the predominant socioeconomic class of a school does exert a considerable impact. In primarily middle class schools, lower class males are elevated in terms of expected occupational success in contrast to lower class males in predominantly…

A study was conducted to determine whether the use of voice as defined by writing theorists is essential to producing good student writing and whether peer interaction would help students gain a greater sense of voice in their writing. Forty-two high school juniors were divided into two clusters: a peer interaction group and a teacher-centered…

THE BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS, BACKGROUNDS, AND THEMES OF CHILDREN'S REALISTIC TRADE BOOKS WERE IDENTIFIED. NINE CATEGORIES OF INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOR WERE DEVELOPED AND DEFINED IN THIS INVESTIGATION OF CHANGES IN CONTENT OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS PUBLISHED WITHIN A PERIOD OF 40 YEARS, FROM 1920-60. FROM 780 SAMPLES REVIEWED BY THE EXAMINER, THREE JUDGES…

THIS EXPERIMENT WAS DESIGNED TO TEST WHETHER STUDENTS WHOSE GRADES ARE PARTLY DETERMINED BY THE PERFORMANCE OF OTHERS IN THE GROUP (THE COOPERATIVE CONDITION) WILL SCORE HIGHER ON EXAMINATIONS THAN THOSE WHOSE GRADES ARE DETERMINED BY THEIR RAW SCORES WITHIN THEIR GROUPS (COMPETITIVE CONDITION). WHEN COGNITIVE LEARNING IN THE COOPERATIVE…

Studies conducted between 1956 and 1966 indicate that what students learn in college is determined by an interaction of individuality and norms common to peer groups, and that identification of individual characteristics leads to the discovery of student subcultures. An important developmental stage during late adolescence is the consolidation of…

The effect of organizational characteristics of classrooms on student friendship patterns is examined. Classrooms which vary in architectural settings, grouping procedures and pedagogical techniques are seen to place differential constraints on student interaction and to produce different patterns of relations. A number of hypotheses are tested in…

Reviewed are literature and research on the use of the positive peer culture (PPC) approach with socially maladjusted and/or emotionally disturbed adolescents. Studies presented focus on the effects of PPC on inappropriate behavior and parole performance. Findings are noted to be inconclusive. (SB)

This study focused upon whether there was a difference in the perception by peers of the target child in a classroom discipline situation after approval-focused desists (e.g., "June, I don't like children who talk without permission.") and task-focused desists (e.g., "Jane, You will not finish your reading if you continue to talk."). Thirty-two…

Four nonmetropolitan South Texas counties were the target areas in exploring the proposition that dropouts should have lower aspirations and expectations than their in-school age peers. Data were obtained from approximately 600 Mexican American high school sophomores and 75 dropout age peers residing in the counties studied in 1968 and 1969. The…

Play and games are thought to have a vital role in the socialization process. This study explores the impact of differences in socialization via game experience according to sex. Children in the sixth grade of a racially-integrated rural school in Maryland were surveyed with regard to their participation in four types of games: (1) individual, (2)…