Social Interdependence and Classroom Climate

Abstract

Responses to a classroom climate instrument were made by 859 students in grades 5 through 9 in three urban and suburban midwestern school districts and were submitted to correlational analyses of relationships between scales measuring attitudes toward social interdependence and attitudes towards relationships with peers and teachers. Students who participated frequently in cooperative learning experiences were compared with students who had only infrequently experienced cooperative learning. Cooperativeness and frequently participating in cooperative learning situations were positively related to perceptions of support, help, and friendship from teachers and peers.