Peer Context of Mathematics Classroom Belonging in Early Adolescence

Abstract

Classroom peer factors were examined for their role in African American and White early adolescents' sense of belonging in mathematics classrooms. After controlling for fall sense of classroom belonging, spring sense of belonging was greater when teens perceived a more supportive peer context, minimal emotional risk in participating, and when they were recognized by peers as being strong math tutors. Additionally, naturally occurring peer groups were differentiated by sense of belonging of members; peer networks that began the year below average in sense of belonging became more alienated during the course of the year, whereas networks above average in belonging stayed at fall levels. The results are interpreted in relation to the benefits that specific peer relations offer aspects of adjustment such as belonging.

Social preference, social prominence, and group membership in late elementary school: homophilic concentration and peer affiliation configurations

“…While it has been acknowledge that these constructs are distinct indices of children's peer relations and are differentially related to children's school adjustment and academic achievement (Farmer et al 2009;Gest et al 2001;Kindermann et al 1996;Wentzel and Caldwell 1997), relatively little work has examined how sociometric popularity, perceived popularity, and peer group membership are related to each other. Such information is important because it may provide valuable insight into the processes and factors that impact the organization of classroom social structures and their subsequent contributions to children's school engagement and educational outcomes, particularly during early adolescence (Adler and Adler 1996;Eder and Parker 1987;Hamm and Faircloth 2005). Accordingly, the current investi- gation provides new views of the social organization in late elementary classrooms by classifying peer groups in terms of homophilic concentration and interpersonal configurations and exploring how these different peer group types are related to social preference and social prominence.…”

“…However, when popularity is defined in terms of being perceived by peers as being "cool" or socially prominent it may actually be a risk factor for school adjustment problems. It is possible that the pursuit of social prominence promotes a pattern of behaviors and peer affiliations that lead to an increasing disinterest in academic achievement across the early adolescent years and may eventually place youth at-risk for school dropout or truncated levels of educational attainment (de Bruyn and Cillessen 2006;Farmer et al 2003b;Hamm and Faircloth 2005;Ream and Rumberger 2008;Staff and Kreager 2008). Thus, as educational researchers work to clarify patterns and pathways to school completion or dropout, the current findings emphasize that there is a need to include a focus on elucidating how distinct processes of attaining status in the classroom peer system may contribute to social stratification that channels some students into peer groups that support the decline of their academic growth.…”

“…However, in the last two decades there has been a resurgence of research on children's peer affiliations and classroom social structures as new techniques have been developed to advance social network analyses in the classroom (Kinderman 2007;Kwon and Lease 2007;Rodkin and Hanish 2007). Collectively, studies on classroom social network have yielded new information on how youth sort themselves into peer groups that contribute to a range of school adjustment variables including school bonding and engagement, academic motivation, school grades, involvement in aggression and bullying, and school discipline problems (e.g., Cairns and Cairns 1994;Estell et al 2002b;Farmer et al 2003aFarmer et al , 2009Hamm and Faircloth 2005;Kindermann 1993;Kinderman 2007). …”

Effects of a Developmentally Based Intervention With Teachers on Native American and White Early Adolescents’ Schooling Adjustment in Rural Settings

“…The second scale, emotional risk of participation, measures students' perceptions of the emotional risk involved in participating in class (Hamm & Faircloth, 2005). Students respond to the prompt, "If I give a wrong answer to a question in my classes, the following happens," by rating their agreement on a 6-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).…”

“…In terms of perceiving a sense of belonging and perceptions of the classroom social-academic context, the intervention effect was that Native American students maintained a closer approximation to their sense of belonging at the beginning of the school year compared with decline for their White classmates and Native American and White counterparts in control schools. Given the findings that significant decline to students' sense of belonging is typical (e.g., Anderman, 2003;Hamm & Faircloth, 2005), findings of less decline should be interpreted positively.…”