The authors examined the nature of dominant students in Grades 3-5 in a midwestern school system in the United States. Previous research has indicated 2 ways a student may gain dominance--through bullying and prosocial behaviors. A cluster analysis for dominant children was conducted using social interdependence attitude scores, children's…

When students enter middle school, they face 2 major challenges, one involving the biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes they are going through, and another involving the transition from elementary to middle school. Peer learning has considerable influence on how well they manage these challenges. The research that exists on peer…

Meta-analyses indicated that cooperation is more effective than interpersonal and individual efforts in promoting achievement and productivity, that cooperation in intergroup competition is superior to interpersonal and individual efforts in promoting achievement and productivity, and that interpersonal competition and individual efforts do not…

Intergroup cooperation and competition were compared to determine if they promoted systematic differences in interaction between majority and minority students. Results indicated that the intergroup cooperation condition produced increased numbers of cross-ethnic relationships. (Author/DF)

Results indicated that cooperative learning experiences, compared with competitive and individualistic ones, promoted more interpersonal attraction between 12 learning disabled and behavior problem fourth graders and 47 nonhandicapped peers and promoted higher self-esteem for all students. Cooperation promoted greater perspective-taking ability…

Attitudinal data from a survey of over 2,400 students in grades 2-12 were used to depict sex differences in cooperativeness and competitiveness in a natural school setting. (Author/SS)

Elementary and secondary student responses to the "Minnesota School Affect Assessment" reveal that cooperativeness relates to a broad range of positive attitudes toward school. Competitiveness correlates with several positive attitudes only for junior and senior high school students. Individualistic attitudes and school-related attitudes are…

Reprints of 17 studies on approaches to ensuring full participation of handicapped students in the regular classroom are presented. The studies, carried out over a 3-year period, were intended to examine evidence on the efficacy of mainstreaming, with particular emphasis on the role of competitive, cooperative, and individualistic learning…

Two studies compared effects of different levels of cooperation (cooperative controversy, cooperative debate, individualistic; and intergroup cooperation vs intergroup competition) on cross-handicap interaction among 123 intermediate grade students (normal or learning/behavior disordered). Pure cooperation promoted more frequent cross-handicap…

The effects of interpersonal cooperation, competition, and individualistic efforts were compared on a categorization and retrieval, a spatial-reasoning, and a verbal problem-solving task. Forty-five first-grade children were stratified on the basis of sex and ability. Students in the cooperative condition achieved best. (Author/CTM)

The effect of cooperative and individualistic learning experiences within which majority students worked with lower-achieving minority peers were compared. The results support the position that cooperative experiences result in liking regardless of the ethnic membership or achievement level of collaborators. (Author/PN)

The effects of interpersonal cooperation, competition, and individualistic efforts were compared on math and reading drill-review, story problems, sequencing, triangle identification, and visual sorting according to attributes tasks, using first-grade students. The cooperative group achieved higher scores and found the tasks easier than the…

Examined the effects of positive interdependence versus no interdependence on college students' academic achievement. Students took weekly electronic quizzes where they could interact with groupmates in a chat room. Achievement was measured via biweekly examinations. Students in the positive interdependence condition engaged in significantly more…

The effects of structured academic conflict, controversy, and debate were compared with individual study. Results indicated controversy promoted the most cross-ethnic verbal rehearsal and exchange of assigned material, concern that all students master assignments, active search for information, highest self-esteem, and accepting and supportive…

Responses to a classroom climate instrument were made by 859 students in fifth through ninth grades in three urban and suburban midwestern school districts. Correlational analyses assessed relationships between scales measuring attitudes toward social interdependence and attitudes towards relationships with peers and teachers. Subjects with high…