The Jigsaw Technique

Abstract

In the USA in 1954, the Supreme Court put a stop to school segregation as a result of the historic Brown versus Board of Education case. This meant that from then on it was illegal to bar pupils from schools on the grounds of their race. During the course of the court case, the expert evidence of psychologists was accepted in the form of oral testimony and in the form of what has come to be known as the ‘Social Science Statement’. This was written by Clark, Chein and Cook, and was signed by 32 social scientists. It argued the case for desegregation on the grounds that segregation of schools sustained inter-racial prejudice, and had negative effects on the ‘segregated against’ minority groups, particularly in terms of self-esteem.