T-groups and the laboratory method of learning

Since 1947 T-groups and the laboratory method have rapidly become major educational methods in many Western countries and continue to be widely used, especially in managerial training and organizational development. Part of this popularity is due to the ethical beliefs embedded in the method that reflect aspects of American culture concerning democracy and democratic leadership, and the way in which people ought to relate to one another. As Bradford, Gibb, and Benne (who were all Fellows of the National Training Laboratories at Bethel) wrote: ‘The T-group is more than an educational technology. It has its roots in a system of values relative to mature, productive and right relationships among people. It is grounded in assumptions about human nature, human learning and human change’ (Bradford, Gibb, and Benne 1964:1).