Effects of Two Contrasting School Task and Incentive Structures on Children's Social Development

Students (second through fifth graders) in 2 elementary school programs with very different structures in 2 districts were compared over 4 years on measures of social development. One program (EXS) emphasized an external motivational orientation with a focus on student accountability and a management system based on competition. The other (CDP program) focused on helping children develop an internal commitment to values and norms through a focus on developmental discipline, cooperative learning, helping activities, social understanding activities, and prosocial values. The 1 EXS school, 3 CDP program schools, and a group of 3 CDP comparison schools that were not implementing any specific intervention program, shared generally similar demographic characteristics. Over the 4 years students were assessed on a number of instruments including structured classroom observations, individual student interviews, large-group questionnaires, and small-group tasks (4-person and dyadic). In addition, teachers completed an extensive questionnaire related to program philosophy and implementation. Results showed the schools to be different in ways consistent with their intended philosophies, with the EXS classrooms using more external controls and the CDP classrooms using more prosocial activities. The EXS teachers described their school as more active, businesslike, traditional, creative, innovative, and supportive. Students in the EXS school demonstrated higher self-esteem than did the CDP students over a 2-year period. Motivation for prosocial behavior was more extrinsic in the EXS school and more intrinsic in the CDP program schools. Third-grade students' interpersonal behavior was more helpful and supportive in the CDP schools.