ED356074 PS021304

 

Title: The Social Interactions and Task Activities of Young Children in Mixed-age and Same-age Classrooms: An Observational Study.
Author(s): Winsler, Adam
Pages: 12
Publication Date: March 1993
Notes: Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (New Orleans, LA, March 25-28, 1993).
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
Language: English
Document Type: Reports--Research (143); Speeches/meeting papers (150)
Geographic Source: U.S.; California
Journal Announcement: RIEAUG1993

This study compared the task activities and social interactions of 10 five-year-old kindergarten children in a mixed-age (MA) classroom of children age 4 through 6 to those of ten 5-year-old kindergartners in an organizationally equivalent same-age (SA) classroom. Compared to children in the SA class, kindergartners in the MA class remained engaged in their classroom activities for longer periods of time and exhibited more prosocial behavior. This study offers some empirical support for MA classes in early childhood education and suggests contexts in which cross-age interaction is most likely to be beneficial. (MDM)

Descriptors: Age Differences; *Age Grade Placement; Cross Age Teaching; *Interpersonal Competence; *Kindergarten; *Kindergarten Children; *Peer Relationship; Primary Education; *Social Behavior
Identifiers: *Mixed Age Groups