Peer to Peer Relationships in the Classroom

Peer interactions are important for a child's social development.

The focus of school tends to be on its academic value. However, children benefit socially from peer-to-peer interactions that occur in the classroom. Children learn social cues and how to react appropriately in a variety of situations that naturally occur during a typical school day. In addition, children learn through play, so peer-to-peer interactions enhance overall academic learning.

Benefits of Interactions

Children benefit from interactions with their peers both socially and academically. They learn about taking turns by playing with their peers and academically, they benefit from interacting with their classmates. Working in groups helps children develop their thoughts further, and discussing the academic material with their peers helps them to make additional connections between the information and the world around them.

Possible Problems with Peer Interactions

Despite the numerous benefits of interacting with peers in the classroom, you should be aware of possible problems that may arise. It is inevitable that peer interactions will lead to disagreements and arguments among children. Allow the children to work it out as much as possible; however, you may need to intervene if things get out of hand or any violent behavior occurs. In addition, be sure that every child in your class is in fact interacting with his peers. It is easy for children to get left out of group activities, so structure situations and activities to avoid this potential issue. Negative peer interactions can lead to low esteem and difficulty making friends at school.

Fostering Positive Peer Interactions

Creating a strong classroom community promotes positive interactions among students. When students feel a sense of community, they are more likely to interact with members of that community in a positive manner. Develop specific community-building activities throughout the entire year. Use strategies such as role-playing and modeling to demonstrate how children should interact with one another in a variety of situations.

Diversity Considerations

Students in your classroom come from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds. You must consider how students' backgrounds may affect their interactions with peers. Students from some cultures may be more quiet or reserved, and others may be more outgoing. Be sure to consider this when demonstrating to children how they should interact with one another in the classroom. Teaching the children to respect these differences among their peers helps to improve their understanding and sensitivity.

References

• "Preschool Children with Special Needs: Children At-Risk, Children with Disabilities"; Janet W. Lerner, Barbara Lowenthal, and Rosemary Egan; 1998
• "Joyful Learning in Kindergarten Revised Edition" Bobbi Fisher; 1998

Resources

• The Special Needs Child: What Are Self-Esteem Activities?