This study, based on qualitative and quantitative methods, concludes that loose-knit peer groups encourage interracial interaction, whereas cliques do not. The conceptual significance of loose-knit groups is that they are midway in intimacy between the classroom and cliques, and thus an important intermediate stage in the progression of "race" relations. A practical implication is that knitness is a useful indicator of the effects of the formal organization on voluntary race relations. ADOLESCENCE, INTEGRATION, PEER GROUPS, RACE RELATIONS, PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION Paul Zisman is Professor of Education at Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia. Vernon Wilson, Ph.D., is a retired school counselor who has done field research on literacy in Mexico. He now works with alternative education programs. 200 Anthropology B Education QuarterlyVolume 23, 1992 the study is to focus attention on how the configurations of informal peer groups reflect the hidden multicultural curriculum. Hence, looseknitness can be used as a measure of how the formal school organization and climate shape the implicit multicultural assumptions transmitted to students. Conceptual Background Conceptual and Methodological OrientationTypically, research on school desegregation examines how input factors affect cross-"race" social interaction, considered an output. Some input factors commonly examined are "racial" composition, duration of desegregation, specific pro-integrationist practices and policies, traits of staff and teachers, and ability grouping (for a review, see Schofield and Sagar 1983). Social interaction measures as outputs have included sociometric choices, student self-reports, observation of seating arrangements, and attitudinal measures. An excellent use of time sampling has been employed in a recent interactional study of learning disabled students by Roberts, Pratt, and Leach (1991). Input-output studies, however, betray a psychological bent by focusing on individuals as social atoms. These studies overlook the mediating effects of "groupness" in the dynamics of interpersonal relations.In contrast, we tried to capture this elusive "group" quality of social relations in our conceptual thrust and methodology. We formulated a theoretical perspective on social groups and inter-"race" behavior by drawing freely on the various social science disciplines, reflecting our own interdisciplinary training in comparative education. First, we based our conception of groups, from which the methodology is derived, on the assumption that "groups are real," as explained in the next section. Second, we assumed that meaningful inter-"race" interactions, when they occur, are embedded in a multilevel relationship of social entities within the school and meet greater resistance as they progress from the more formal settings, through the informal looseknit peer groups, to the more intimate cliques and friendships. The "rule of intimacy in 'race' relations," upon which this assumption is based, is discussed below. This approach addresses one le...

This study, based on qualitative and quantitative methods, concludes that loose‐knit peer groups encourage interracial interaction, whereas cliques do not. The conceptual significance of loose‐knit groups is that they are midway in intimacy between the classroom and cliques, and thus an important intermediate stage in the progression of “race” relations. A practical implication is that knitness is a useful indicator of the effects of the formal organization on voluntary race relations.

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