Collaborative Interaction among Young Children in Primary School Classes in the Republic of Ireland

This paper reports analyses of collaborative interaction among pairs of young children (ages 4.0‐8.0) in a city school in the Republic of Ireland. The sample comprised 36 children; 12 at each of the three age groups: 4, 6 and 8 years. In each of these age groups six pairs of children were observed during paired work of a type routinely found in primary school classrooms. Children used familiar materials which were age appropriate. Analyses of interaction focused on three tasks: a jigsaw (previously unseen), construction of a robot model using LEGO and free choice of LEGO modelling. Analyses of interaction focused on the use of specific collaborative strategies. The results show that collaborative pairs, contrasted with non‐collaborative pairs, were characterised by more direct partner involvement, longer term views of the task, mutual support, provision of feedback and devices to move the action forward. The nature of collaborative interaction differed in same‐sex and cross‐sex pairs, by task and across the age range studied. The results indicate that qualitatively different types of collaborative processes occur in same‐sex and in cross‐sex pairings of young children. It is concluded that a variety of forms of collaborative grouping have a valuable place in early years classes.