The authors argue for the inclusion of students' subjective sense of belonging in an integrated model of student persistence (Cabrera et al., J Higher Educ 64:123-139, 1993). The effects of sense of belonging and a simple intervention designed to increase sense of belonging are tested in the context of this model. The intervention increased sense…

This study traced the evolution of students' attitudes toward their desegregated school over a period of three years. A sample group of ten black and ten white children were interviewed at the beginning, middle and end of the three year period on three topics: (1) their reactions to and feelings about attending their new school; (2) their opinions…

Interracial interaction patterns were observed in a school whose sixth and seventh grades came close to meeting Allport's conditions conducive to improved intergroup relations. As predicted, compared to students who entered the school's eighth grade the previous year from largely segregated schools, these students interacted more across racial…

This study examined peer interaction in four racially mixed eighth grade classrooms. Observational data were gathered on the interactions of 69 white children and 32 black children during the course of one semester. The study found considerably more cross-race peer interaction than have previous studies conducted in non-academic settings in…

The amount and type of peer interaction occuring in four racially mixed eighth grade classrooms were explored. Analysis of the interactions suggested that cross-race interactions of all groups were more task-related than within-race interactions. In turn, within-race interactions were more social than cross-race interactions. (Author/PN)

The study on which this book is based examined the development of social relationships among black and white students in a new, desegregated urban middle school. In the initial phase, information was gathered from classroom observation, interviews, and a wide variety of supplementary sources over a three-year period beginning with summer…

This report focuses on the relations which have developed between black and white students in a new interracial middle school. In addition to describing these relations, it analyzes why and how they have developed. A review of the literature on desegregation and intergroup relations is used to set the context of the study. A description of the…

The widespread concern about the impact of school desegregation and the controversy over what its effect might be have resulted in a substantial body of research. This review focuses on the impact on students themselves, presenting some conclusions that have emerged and discussing some methodological problems inherent in the assessment of the…

An intensive study of one desegregated school, located in a large northeastern industrial city, specifically sought to investigate peer interactions among sixth- and seventh-grade students in a racially mixed school. The basic data-gathering strategy involved observations conducted in classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, and the cafeteria. Observers…