The maintenance of cooperative and helping behaviours in cooperative groups

This study was a full-year investigation of whether children, who had previously been trained to cooperate and help each other, were able to use these behaviours in reconstituted groups without additional training one year later.

(i) To examine whether children who have previously been trained to cooperate demonstrate more cooperative and helping behaviours in their groups than children who had no been trained and (ii) to determine the effect of prior training on children's learning.

The study involved 144 Grade 2 children (mean age = 94.5 months; third year of schooling), from nine schools in a similar socio-demographic area of Brisbane, Australia. Sixty-four children, who had been trained in cooperative group behaviours in the previous year, were assigned to the Trained groups and 80 children, who had not received any training, were assigned to the Untrained groups.

The children worked in four-person, mixed-ability (high-, medium-, and low-ability), gender-balanced groups (2 males, 2 females) for one six-week social studies unit of work each term for three school terms. Videotaping occurred in the 5-6 week of each work unit. Videotapes were coded for behaviour and verbal interactions. Learning outcomes data were also collected.

The children in the trained groups exhibited more cooperative behaviour and they provided more explanations, both in response to explicit and implicit requests for help across the three periods of time. The children in the trained groups used higher level cognitive strategies such as providing specific concrete facts and reasons in their interactions and they also obtained higher scores on the learning outcomes questionnaire than their untrained peers.

Young children who have been trained to cooperate and help each other are able to demonstrate these behaviours in reconstituted groups without additional training a year later.