Tribes

Tribes (also known as Tribes Learning Communities, or Tribes TLC) is an elementary, middle, and high school program that promotes social and academic development by creating a positive learning environment. The Tribes group development process concentrates on both resiliency and the stages of human development. Teachers organize their students into collaborative learning groups of three to six students, known as "tribes." Each tribe works together throughout the semester or academic year. To promote a spirit of cooperation and social acceptance, students and teachers also honor four basic agreements while in the classroom: 1) they agree to listen attentively to one another, 2) they promise to show appreciation for one another and avoid "put downs," 3) they promise to show mutual respect, and 4) they agree that all students have the "right to pass" on peer-led activities in which they would rather not participate. Over the course of the academic year, as students become better at honoring the four agreements and working together, teachers gradually transfer responsibility to the tribe, so its members can set their own goals, monitor progress, and solve problems.

The clear purpose of the Tribes process is to assure the healthy development of every child so that each one has the knowledge, skills and resiliency to be successful in a rapidly changing world.

In 1993, Judith Holt conducted an evaluation of the impact of Tribes on discipline referrals at Thomas Edison Preparatory School in Oklahoma. Using an experimental research design, Holt randomly assigned about 280 sixth grade students to either a treatment or a roughly equivalent control group. Holt's evaluation of the Tribes program in Oklahoma found that students based in Tribes classrooms were significantly less likely than non-Tribes students to be referred to the principal's or a counselor's office for disciplinary problems. Over the course of the study period, the Tribes students were formally referred for disciplinary action 41 times (27 percent of the study total), while non-Tribes students were referred a 113 times (73 percent of the study total). A breakdown of the different types of disciplinary referrals that occurred in both groups indicates that Tribes students were less likely to be referred for disciplinary problems of all types, including disruptive behavior, refusal to work/follow direction, and fighting. Other studies have also found that the program had a positive impact on classroom environment, and that students involved in well-implemented Tribes programs had significantly higher test scores than students from comparison groups.