An investigation of the effects of involvement as tutors in a cross-age helping program for socially isolated fourth-grade children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of involvement as tutors in a cross-age helping program on eight socially-isolated fourth-grade children who attended a private school in Nashville, Tennessee. Tutors were selected on the basis of their isolation revealed by the administration of a sociometric criterion to the entire fourth-grade class. It was hypothesized that involvement in the. tutorial experience would lead to improved attitude toward school, improved social status in the classroom, and more successful academic achievement. Attitude toward school was inferred from tutors' projective stories and attendance records. Social status was based on results of sociometric elections and teacher ratings. Academic achievement was assessed through standardized group achievement tests. Children were involved in the cross-age helping program for ten weeks, tutoring second-graders four days a week and attending workshops with the experimenter once a week. Results were interpreted by means of a pre-/post-test design with no control group employed. Of the eight tutors, two males attained non-isolate status on the second sociometric criterion that followed their participation in the cross-age helping program. Two sex differences were noted. The hypotheses were supported only partially. Included are suggestions for further research.