Positive social interdependence and classroom climate

We explored the relationship between student perceptions of social interdependence and social support. Attitudinal responses to the Classroom Life Instrument (Johnson & Johnson, 1983; Johnson, Johnson, & Anderson, 1983; Johnson, Johnson, Buckman, & Richards, 1985) were gathered in Canada from four classes totaling 123 eighth-grade students learning geometry in cooperative groups. We extended previous findings by examining the relationships among the classroom climate variables, causal attributions, and achievement, and explored the consistency among the four classroom climate studies using statistical methods for meta-analysis to determine overall effect magnitudes and the degree of study-to-study variability. Social support from the teacher and fellow students was moderately related to perceptions of positive interdependence, but social interdependence factors were less important predictors of student learning than was student self-esteem.