Individual characteristics and peer group membership type in 7th grade was examined in relation to school dropout. Peer group type was characterized according to the proportion of group members who were high on teacher-rated aggression and popularity. Both aggressive and popular group types were linked to dropping out. (Contains 43 references and…

Although all people experience interpersonal conflicts in their lives, peer conflicts play a particularly important role for adolescents. Undergoing rapid cognitive, physical, and social changes, adolescents' peers assume increasing importance in their lives. The study reported in this paper focused on peer conflict among adolescents in order to…

A study involving 58 seventh graders in same-gender dyads in three mutual peer tutoring conditions demonstrates that tutorial interaction can be structured so that same-ability age mates can scaffold each other's higher order thinking and learning. Scaffolding is not necessarily restricted to situations in which one partner is more knowledgeable…

IMPROVE, a method for teaching mathematics in heterogeneous classrooms based on social cognition theories, was developed and tested in studies involving 247 and 265 seventh graders. IMPROVE uses metacognitive activities, peer interaction, and feedback-corrective enrichment. Results of both studies showed that IMPROVE students significantly…

Results of a study of 23 7th-grade students revealed that underachievers are less self-confident, less socially and emotionally mature, less able to focus on one concern at a time, less accurate in their perceptions about themselves and their work, and less hardworking than achievers. (IAH)

Offers an account of the changes one teacher observed in her reading/writing workshop in a middle school classroom when she and her students took the time to focus on ways of talking to one another, building their speaking and listening skills. (SR)

Social control and social learning theories were combined to construct a model of delinquency that specifies the contributions of various factors, including parenting, social skills, value commitments, and school problems. Results with a sample of 61 families of seventh graders largely support the model. (SLD)

To determine the effects of peer tutoring on tutors and tutees in middle school English classes, a study was conducted using pretest and posttest data of 120 students in a Mississippi middle school gathered from the following: (1) the California Achievement Test, 1977 Edition, Forms C and D; (2) teacher-assigned grades in English classes; (3)…

Student behaviors that best predicted mathematics learning in peer-directed small groups among students who needed help were studied with 166 seventh graders. Tape recordings of student interaction confirmed that receiving explanations and carrying out constructive activity were predictors of achievement. (SLD)

For a successful transition to adulthood, young people need opportunities to be responsible, caring, participating members of society. A study was designed to test the effectiveness of peer discipline control in seventh grade classrooms. The context was a language arts class in which the students were learning parliamentary procedures. A class…

Several recent studies have shown that when black and white students work together on biracial learning teams, they make more cross-racial friendships than students in traditional classrooms. This study is a secondary analysis of one of these studies, conducted to discover for whom the effects of cooperative learning are the greatest. The sample…

Describes a study conducted with a seventh-grade Future Problem Solving (FTS) class in which students work in teams of four to solve problems related to futuristic issues. As a result of increased competitiveness and poor emotional climate in the class, activities designed to promote a more congenial, less competitive classroom atmosphere were…

Discusses an ethnographic study into the phenomenon of resistance in a middle school, focusing on seven students in seventh grade. Proposes the need to negotiate classroom life in ways that take into account individuals' backgrounds, strengths, and needs, and the need to create a place where identity and difference can exist in respectful…

The transition to junior high school can be a positive step toward increasing maturity, and a stressful period of adaptation as well. To investigate the contribution of friendships to children's adjustment after the transition to junior high school, students (N=101) from four elementary schools were tested during the spring of sixth grade, in the…

This study examined a smoking intervention program, which employed group competitions with rewards, to determine its effects on adolescents' smoking-relevant beliefs, their subjective norms, and peer influence. Initially, 1,187 seventh graders in Burlington, Clinton, and Muscatine, Iowa were surveyed in 1984. Data were gathered from a re-survey…