For this purpose, 100 nine graders from more than 10 countries in an
independent preparatory school in Doha / Qatar were divided into four
classes and distributed over the following learning “STAD” groups:
a- Heterogeneous by ability but homogeneous by nationality.
b- Heterogeneous by nationality but homogeneous by ability.
c- Entirely heterogeneous (i.e. by both the ability and the nationality).
d- Entirely homogeneous (i.e. by both the ability and the nationality).
A diagnostic placement test, standardized pretest and posttest in addition
to the regular school tests were used to measure the achievement of the
students. A Questionnaire was developed to measure the attitudes of the
students towards learning science as well as towards group working.
The study concluded that the main effects of group structure on the
students’ attitudes towards learning science were demonstrated by the
heterogeneous group. It affected all the attitude components except the
“working with students from different cultural backgrounds” dimension,
where nearly all group types had the same effect. However, this positive
attitude was enhanced when the effect of mixed ability classes was
combined with the effect of multiculturalism. Having foreign students or
students from different cultures in a mixed ability class, yielded the best
desired results. Therefore, the researcher highly recommends maximizing
the heterogeneity in a class in all possible ways. The implemented
collaborative learning strategy made learning more fun and beneficial for
the students, enhanced their self confidence, academic awareness, and
consequently their overall attitude towards science.