Multigrade Schools – Organizing for Effective and Efficient Delivery
To be supplied: Author and institution
1.
What are multigrade schools?
Multigrade schools combine students of different ages and abilities in one classroom,
under the direction of one teacher. They take a variety of organizational forms, ranging
from a grouping of several formal grade divisions under the direction of one teacher to a
completely non-graded learning environment.
Multigrade schools differ from
‘traditional’ schools where each class is typically made up of a distinct grade with its own
teacher and classroom.
2.
Why multigrade schools?
Multigrade schools occupy a unique place in the history of education. The multigrade
school, or one-room school house, was the dominant model of educational provision in
North America until the advent of large scale industrialization and urbanization. In the
past, schools in Great Britain used a ‘monitor system’, in which older, more advanced
students helped to supervise younger students. Single graded classes evolved in the
1800s as a means of managing students by organizing them into age divisions or grades.
The graded textbook and demand for specialist teachers further solidified graded school
organization. Critics of the graded school system charge that it was developed to manage
large numbers of students rather than to meet their individual needs, and that it is
unrealistic to expect children to be at the same stage of development in a given grade.
The multigrade school, however, is still an important organizational form in many areas.
They are seen as an efficient means of providing education in thinly populated rural areas
that have budgetary and staff constraints. In many urban areas, multigrade classes are
part of experimental learning and teaching programs which try to capture the benefits of
peer tutoring and independent inquiry. Finally, in many small towns with declining
student intakes, multigrade schools offer an alternative to school amalgamation, thus
helping communities to maintain the school as an institution that preserves the sense of
local identity and culture.
1
3.
What does it take to make a successful multigrade school?
It takes much more than hardware and administration to make a successful – i.e. effective
and efficient – multigrade school. Appropriate pedagogical training and materials are
both critical for successful multigrade teaching. Education administrators must develop
strategies that affect actual teacher behavior and skills, and help teachers to change the
way they view themselves. The multigrade teacher’s role is one of a resource person,
manager and facilitator of the learning process.
There are four critical areas of change to focus on in order to build successful multigrade
schools:

teachers need to develop a wide repertoire of teaching techniques and classroom
management practices;

to do so, they require material and physical inputs, of which programmed learning
materials and textbooks are of greatest importance;

multigrade teachers require local and regional professional support networks;

national policies with regard to teacher and administrator training, teacher
recruitment and support, and materials development need to be sensitive to, and
supportive of, the multigrade environment.
4.
Costs and risks of multigrade schooling
While multigrade schools may, in optimal circumstances, offer significant economic and
pedagogical benefits, there are also several costs and drawbacks to consider:

Student achievement in multigrade schools may be low in comparison to achievement
in single grade schools if multigrade programs are not supported with the required
resources and if teachers are not properly trained.

Demands on teachers’ time and organizational capabilities are high;
special training and materials to perform their jobs effectively.

Students may receive less individual attention, and must often work independently.
5.
they need
Are there alternatives to multigrade schooling?
Multigrade schools are not the only means of addressing the problem of expanding access
to education in rural areas, maintaining schools in towns with declining populations, or
managing scarce resources. Alternative policies include biennial or triennial intakes,
closing or consolidating small schools, or setting up networks of satellite and nucleus
schools.
2