Multigrade teaching is often neglected in curriculum texts and teacher training programmes. But research in the Caribbean has found that multigrade school students consistently outperform those in monograde schools in tests of reading. Does multigrade teaching deserve more attention? Can monograde teaching practice learn from multigrade schools?

Multigrade classes contain two or more grade levels of students and usually occur in small schools where there are fewer teachers than grade levels. They may also be a response to fluctuating enrolment in large urban or semi-urban schools. Whereas monograde classrooms tend to be characterised by whole-class teaching, in multigrade classes, students have more opportunity to engage in small group work. Are there any groups of students who are better suited to learning in a multigrade school? Which students are more likely to achieve greater success in a monograde school?

A study by the University of London’s Institute of Education compares the reading progress of students in multigrade schools with that of students in monograde schools in the small Caribbean island state of Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). In TCI, low achievement in English Language at primary school is linked to reduced student achievement at the secondary school level.

Reading test scores from TCI multigrade and monograde primary schools were analysed and the effects of student gender, mother tongue and school location were examined. The study found that multigrade schools are particularly effective at promoting the reading progress of low-achieving students. This is likely to be due in part to the different teaching practices of multigrade and monograde classrooms, particularly the opportunity to engage in work in small groups.

Further key findings from the research include:

• Multigrade schools are more effective at reducing the range of achievement in the class but the reading levels of high achievers are extended further in monograde schools, particularly as children grow older.
• Low-achieving boys benefit the most in multigrade schools while high-achieving girls have greatest success in monograde schools.

There is growing interest in multigrade school organisation, particularly in developing countries, because of its potential as a vehicle for the delivery of low-cost quality education. However the report suggests that policymakers need to explore ways in which the progress of students at all levels of achievement, and in all kinds of school setting, can be promoted.

Recommendations to policymakers looking to improve multigrade and monograde teaching in TCI and elsewhere include:

• reforming the curriculum to make better links between different grade-level materials and give teachers more freedom to differentiate instruction for the many levels of achievement in the class
• exploring new approaches to assessment to reduce levels of competition in classrooms and enable teachers to make decisions about the pace of instruction
• considering teaching approaches that address the needs of all levels of achievement such as paired reading, co-operative groupwork and shared reading
• introducing classroom libraries and self-instructional materials to increase reading achievements and allow an increase in independent study.

Source(s):
‘Achievement effects of multigrade and monograde primary schools in the Turks and Caicos Islands’, by C.Berry, International Journal of Educational Development, 21, p. 537-552, 2001 Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 10 October 2002

Further Information:
Chris Berry
Lifelong Education and International Development Group
University of London
Institute of Education
20 Bedford Way
London
WC1H 0AL
UK

Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7612 6916
Contact the contributor: c.berry@ioe.ac.uk

Institute of Education, University of London, UK

Other related links:
'Out of sight, out of mind? Multigrade teaching in Nepal'

'Multi-grade teaching: facing the hidden reality of education's have-nots'

More about the Institute of Education's Multigrade Teaching Project

The World Bank's Effective Schools and Teachers resource centre