Finding One's Place: Teaching Styles and Peer Relations in Diverse Classrooms

by Plank, Stephen; Dornbusch, Sanford M.

• ISBN13: 9780807739891
• ISBN10: 0807739898
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

Drawing from his rich study of ten fourth-grade classrooms, Plank uncovers the ways that teachers' leadership styles, tasks, and reward structures affect students' peer relations. The synthesis of qualitative and quantitative data is especially creative, as are the practical implications presented here for administrators and teachers who want to encourage participation and well-being among students in heterogeneous classrooms.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Sanford M. Dornbusch
Acknowledgments	ix
Socioeconomic Desegregation and Community Politics	1	(8)
The Community of LaCrosse	2	(3)
The Desegregation Plan	5	(3)
Conclusion	8	(1)
Desegregation, Integration, and the Gulf That Can Lie Between Them	9	(13)
Desegregation and Integration	9	(6)
Social Organization of the Classroom	15	(6)
Conclusion	21	(1)
Places and Cases: The Toolbox Opened	22	(12)
Selection of Five Schools and Ten Classrooms	23	(8)
Data Sources	31	(2)
Conclusion	33	(1)
Stepping Inside Ten Classrooms	34	(33)
Descriptive Framework for Activity and Reward Structure	37	(4)
The Ten Classrooms	41	(22)
Classifying the Ten Classrooms	63	(4)
A First Look at Peer Relations: Hierarchy and Egalitarianism	67	(13)
Predicting the Shape of Peer Relations	67	(1)
Distributions of Workmate Nominations in Fall and Spring	68	(11)
Conclusion	79	(1)
More on Peer Relations: Cohesive Subgroups	80	(31)
Identifying Cohesive Subgroups	83	(1)
Two Classrooms Compared: An Illustration	84	(10)
Subgroup Membership: Assessing Proposition 1	94	(3)
Egalitarianism Versus Hierarchy: Assessing Propositions 2 and 3	97	(7)
Closure: Patterns and Hypotheses	104	(3)
In-Degree: Patterns and Hypotheses	107	(2)
Conclusion	109	(2)
A Further Examination of Workmates and Playmates	111	(25)
The Models	112	(5)
Findings	117	(17)
Conclusion	134	(2)
The Roots of Belonging and Participation	136	(19)
Location, Location, Location	137	(4)
Focusing on Students	141	(11)
Discussion and Conclusions	152	(3)
Implications for Educational Research and Practice	155	(10)
Revisiting Five Conditions for Improved Intergroup Relations	156	(7)
Final Thoughts	163	(2)
Appendix: Student Sociometric Survey Instrument	165	(2)
References	167	(6)
Index	173	(8)
About the Author	181