Communal Versus Individual Learning of a Math-Estimation Task: African American Children and the Culture of Learning Contexts

Abstract

The authors compared the performance of 78 African American 5th-grade students who studied a math-estimation task in one of two learning contexts. Learning contexts differed in the degree to which they afforded the expression of communalism. ANCOVA confirmed that posttest performance was best for students who studied in the high communal-learning context. The findings support A. W. Boykin's (1994) contention that the cultural context of learning can be a critical mediator of children's performance.

Keywords:

• African American
• at risk
• cognitive development
• communalism
• cooperative learning
• learning groups
• math estimation
• talent development