The research aimed to provide a complete understanding of characteristics, facilitators, and challenges in implementing professional learning communities in multi-age schools. This study utilized a mixed-methods multiple case study design. Participants in this study were teachers from two private K-8 multi-age schools. The characteristics of…

This article analyzes the transfer and 15-year policy trajectory of Colombia's "global best practice" "Escuela Nueva in Brazil." This program, initially transferred to Brazil in 1997 with the help of the World Bank, was largely unknown for the first decade of its life span. Then, between 2008 and 2011, "after" the…

Analyzes conditions under which implementation of multi-grade schools might be successful, focusing on the Colombian Escuela Nuela programme. Concludes that capacity building through in-service training is an important determinant of the way teachers approach their task. Suggests that teacher motivation and commitment might explain much of the…

Multiage/multiability grouping is when more than one grade level of students is grouped in a classroom. This report summarizes the research on multiage/multiability grouping in the primary grades. The paper, which is intended for use in Kentucky's educational system, focuses on quantitatively based comparative research syntheses. The text…

This paper and a set of correlated video tapes were prepared to be used especially by school personnel interested in the Multiunit school which provides a facilitative environment for three functions: (1) modifying current practices and developing an effective system of individually guided education within each building; (2) participating in…

Describes an innovative program of multi-age team teaching to provide individualized instruction in both academic and personality development. (AN)

In this article, the author discusses multiage education. Multiage education hailed as recently as 10 years ago as a promising way to restructure schools and boost student achievement but now has fallen on hard times. Interest in the issue has waned, with new research on the topic virtually nonexistent and attendance at national multiage…

Colombia's rural "escuelas nuevas" feature multigrade classrooms, flexible promotion, rural-oriented curriculum, parent and community involvement, mastery learning, peer instruction, and library resources. A study of over 3,000 students found that, compared to traditional schools, Escuela Nueva schools had lower dropout probabilities,…

This document is a compilation of the responses to an innovations survey form sent to each district and each school administrator in the county. A subject index reflects the variety of innovations reported, and an additional index by school is provided at the end of the compilation. Schools are grouped alphabetically by school district and…

Multiunit school organization increases teacher participation in making decisions that directly affect them through decentralized decisionmaking -- a shift from individual to group decisions. A survey of teachers revealed that those in multiunit schools were more satisfied with their profession than were those in traditionally organized schools,…

This study was designed primarily to evaluate the effectiveness of three multi-age classes at Carnarvon School, Vancouver, B.C. (each class having an age range of three years: ages 6-8, 7-9, 9-11) in developing children's self-concepts and attitudes toward school. No significant difference was found between the multi-age and regular classes in…

This study was conducted in the Emerson Elementary School of the Riverside Unified School District, California, which operates multi-grade (combination) and single grade (non-combination) classrooms in the early childhood department and also special programs to improve interracial understanding. The study explores the effects of student…

This book provides information and guidance to rural community members for improving their schools through community involvement. It encourages new ways of thinking about the purposes of education, the roles of schools, and methods of teaching and learning. After establishing the purpose and need for community involvement in rural small schools,…

To help educators continue to refine approaches to nourishing children's imaginations, this bibliography brings together 652 references on alternative school systems. The references are arranged into 17 categories and indexed by subject category and author. The categories include alternative, cooperative, experimental, interdisciplinary, and…

Participants from India, Korea, Maldives, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia met to formulate strategies and develop alternative methods of teaching multiple classes and educating disadvantaged groups. Activities of the Study Group Meeting included four phases: presentation and discussion of country experiences relating to…