Private Communication Between Students in the Classroom in Relation to Different Classroom Features

Abstract

The aim of this study is to present an overview of communication patterns between students during ordinary lessons in a compulsory school system. The results, based on observations of 70 lessons, reveal that every lesson is filled with internal communication between students. Even if this interaction is mostly out of teachers’ conscious control, it is not random. The results do not provide any evidence to support an assumption that chatter between peers will increase in larger classes. The students’ participation in private interaction may to some extent depend on their position in the classroom. However, some factors of greater importance and highly relevant to peer interaction are the age of students (school level) and the form of work. The study demonstrates both the intensity of students’ private communication during ordinary lessons and also the relationship to some contextual factors. These contextual factors can be seen as educational means which teachers can use or misuse in their pupils’ ‘identity‐seeking process’. When teachers place children at different desks, and when they choose a special form of work, they are creating interactive arenas for their students. These arenas are important elements in the developmental setting which the school offers each individual child.