Toward interdependence: Implementation of cooperative learning in primary schools

Abstract

The present dissertation concerns the implementation of cooperative learning in Dutch primary schools. The focus was on the process of implementation in four experimental schools and on the outcomes at the levels of the school, the teacher and the student. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 constitute the foundation of the designed CL-school improvement program. In Chapter 1, attention is paid to CL, the content of the CL staff development program. Chapter 2 is concerned with Effective School Improvement (ESI), as this paradigm provides the rationale of our CL-school improvement program. ESI builds on two prominent traditions in school organizational research, namely, school effectiveness and school improvement. In Chapter 3, provided is a short description of the participants in the present study. Moreover, the nature and contents of the two training programs are outlined, translating the theoretical notions about the implementation of CL into the specific contents of the two treatments. Chapter 4 concerns the results of the CL-school improvement program at the level of the school, paying attention to the processes of implementation and the development of leadership practices as perceived by the leadership teams themselves, as well as by the teachers. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with the effects of the CL school improvement program at the level of the teacher, focusing on changes in teachers' instructional behaviors and perceptions of CL. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 are concerned with the results of the CL school improvement program at the level of the students. Attention is paid to changes in students' elaborations, student perceptions of CL and their cognitive outcomes. Finally, in Chapter 10, the results of the studies undertaken in Chapters 4 up to and including 9 are summarized and discussed. In addition, some implications for future research are provided, along with implications for future school improvement efforts.