The Relationship between the Social Structure of the Classroom and the Academic Success of the Pupils

THE PURPOSE of the present investiga tion is to determine whether or not those child ren who are accepted by their peers differ incer tain achievements from those who are rejected. A sociometric study of almost any group will show that some members are consistently reject ed while others are given most of the attention, positions of leadership, and other responsibilities. To be always on the outskirts of a group is not only harmful to the individual, but limits the po tential help that this individual might give to the group if he were an accepted member of it. Pres ent theories in regard to group dynamics indicate that it is not necessary for groups to be so con structed. Under proper leadership, all members of the group should become participating members. If a group is so constituted as to include some members who largely dominate the scene, and others who seldom enter in except as on-lookers, it is important to know which people are in these capacities, and what they are like in other re spects. Only after the leader has identified those who are playing the various roles in the gr o up, can he work toward effecting a balance. According to modern philosophies of education, the good teacher does more than merely dispense subject matter to pupils. One of the things she presumably does is to help children learn to live and work and play cooperatively. She attempts to help each individual develop his capacities and to take advantage of his particular talents. She thus develops in each child something, however small, which he can contribute to the group. She must also help him find the opportunity to make this contribution. Some children find something to give to the others without too much specific help from the teacher. But it is very likely that every teacher will have some isolated individuals in her class. It is important for her to know why these children are isolated and why they are not able to contribute to the group, in order that she may help improve their social relationships in the classroom. To do this she also needs to know the basis of the smaller classroom groups. Most studies of the social acceptability of el ementary school children seem to have been so ciometric in nature. Research by Moreno has shown that more accurate information about the acceptability of children by their peers may be obtained from the children themselves than from the judgment of their teachers. In checking the accuracy of teachers' judgments regarding the most and least popular members of the various classroom groups, Moreno found a constantly de creasing figure, from that of being 62. 5% accu rate in the kindergarten down to being only 25% accurate in the seventh grade, with an increase to 40% in the eighth grade (11). If teachers, know ing pupils as well as they do, are unable to learn from observation how the group is structured so cially, it is evident that some more accurate measure is necessary. Several studies have reported results which indicate the degree of stability of sociometric measures. There is a fairly wide variation in the results obtained. At the one extreme are the results of Stacker who found at the fifth grade level a correlation of . 87 between a sociometric retest and one given five months earlier (13). At the other extreme, Cris well finds a fluctuation of from 20% to 50% in the choice of ones' best friends over a six-week period in grades 1 to 8 (3). However, even with this great degree of fluctuation, no significant changes in the general structure of the classroom were found. 1 I The majority of these studies have been in the