This study examines the friendship patterns of
students in a year 7 to 10 A.C.T. high school using Vertical
Integration as a grouping policy.
The origins of this study can be found in the
school's policy developed in 1976 and favouring vertical
integration on the basis of perceived social benefits.
In the development of teaching strategies at
Melba High, Vertical Integration has been used with all
year groups in all subject areas.
Over the last three years teachers have questioned
the validity of this policy.
This study arose out of the demand by staff for
more detailed understanding of group formation processes
generally and of the link between group formation and
school grouping policies at Melba High in particular.
The approach used to generate data was an action
research design that could feed information to the school
decision-making processes.
The key findings of the study were that;
(a) whatever form of Vertical Integration was used,
students still worked in age and sex groups by choice.
(b) students tended to form friendships on a subschool
basis.
Recommendations resulting from these findings have been
implemented in the present planning of Melba High School. The
format for Vertical Integration (the method of combining years
7,8,9 and 10 in classes) has been modified to combine adjacent
year groups only. (viz. years 7 and 8 as one group and years
9 and 10 as another).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219180 |
| Date | January 1979 |
| Creators | Markham, V. W., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Teacher Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright V. W. Markham |
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