Social Interactions in Heterogeneous Preschools in Israel

FEITELSON, DINA; WEINTRAUB, SHOSHANA; and MICHAELI, ORA. Social Interactions in Heterogeneous Preschools in Israel. CHILD DEVELOPMlENT, 1972, 43, 1249-1259. A 2-year project with 48 disadvantaged (D) and 48 privileged (P) Israeli 3-year-olds studied how heterogeneous or homogeneous grouping influences social interaction. 4 preschools were set up. In 1--the homogeneous school-all 24 pupils were Ds. In each of the other 3 schools-the heterogeneous schools-the ratio of children from the 2 groups was 8 Ds to 16 Ps. Written records of Ss' behavior during 1-hour free play observations at the beginning and end of the project were analyzed. The records were divided into social interaction units (SIUs). The SIUs were then classified into 7 categories. The percentage of SIUs per child in each of the categories and with each type of interactee (adult, D child, P child) was computed. The heterogeneous Ds had a greater amount of SIUs than the homogeneous Ds. However, heterogeneous Ds as well as Ps interacted mainly within their own social group. Moreover, the homogeneous Ds (like the Ps) developed a good ability to cooperate with peers, while the heterogeneous Ds remained very dependent on adults.