Classroom Peer Relations of Children Participating in a Pull-Out Enrichment Program

Abstract

We compared the classroom peer relations of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders participating in a pull-out enrichment program (Creative Learning in a Unique Environment [CLUE]) with all other classmates. Data included peer sociometric assessments, evaluations of friendship relationships, and peer nominations as aggressors and as victims of aggression. Relative to other classmates, CLUE children (a) were evaluated by peers as having greater social acceptability and social competence, (b) demonstrated greater awareness of reciprocity in friendship relationships, and (c) were perceived less often as an aggressor or as a victim of aggression. These children did not have more friends or best friends than their peers, but they had more valued positions within the peer network. These findings suggest that a pull-out enrichment program can be associated with enhanced peer relations in the classroom, an effect not evident in the current research literature.