Small schools are a significant feature of the educational landscape in India, with approximately 78% of primary schools having three or fewer teachers to attend to all grade levels, and more than 55% with 100 or fewer students in 2005. These schools are commonly found in impoverished rural communities, where they are often characterised by the…

Describes Choice, an alternative elementary school program that features combination classrooms (K-1, 2-3, and 4-5), an open classroom format, and strong parental involvement. Discusses widely held misconceptions about the program and attributes these to the conservative, working class nature of the community (Somerville, Massachusetts). (GC)

Reports on a study of 10 primary grade teachers in four multi-age classrooms (formed in response to a Kentucky state mandate to implement non-graded, multi-age, primary programs for children ages 5-9). Examines what teachers did to make language arts instruction work, and their continuing efforts and struggles to meet the needs of a wide variety…

Attempts to find a middle ground between the extremes of direct instruction and discovery learning by creating a process that helps young children acquire beginning writing and spelling skills without the "drudgery" associated with drill and practice and the anxiety associated with spelling quizzes. Describes the "Share and Compare" process that…

Investigates young children's developing understanding of three essential features of book language (i.e. autonomy, conventionality, unique grammar) in two curricular genres (i.e. narrative and expository) in a literature-based, multigrade (1st-3rd) classroom. Demonstrates emergent understanding of autonomy, limited familiarity with…

Provides information on multiage grouping and argues in favor of the arrangement. (LN)

Despite promising research findings and enthusiastic participants, multiyear teacher/student relationships remain uncommon in U.S. schools. The multiyear approach offers great potential for summertime learning. Ambitious pilot programs in Attleboro and Worcester, Massachusetts, and West Bloomfield, Minnesota, are briefly described. (MLH)

The Small Schools Curriculum Project in Newfoundland aims to develop curricular and pedagogical solutions to the problems identified with multigrade classrooms. Concludes that multigrade classrooms are (1) a prevalent and permanent feature of education in Newfoundland; (2) a unique form of educational organization; and (3) potentially feasible…

This monograph reviews literature on school and class size for its relevance to the concerns of CREATE [Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity]. It estimates the numbers of small schools and numbers of children learning in small schools worldwide. It assesses the implications of school size, large and small, for…

A large proportion of teachers throughout the world teach in multigrade classrooms, or classes with more than one grade level. It is reliably predicted that the number of multigrade classes will increase in the future. This paper addresses the issue of teacher education for multigrade. The main thesis of this paper is that the professional…

Article described an art program presented to grades one through seven simultaneously, thereby making students more aware of a sequential development in the various art projects. (Author/RK)

A task force composed of educators and members of the business community studied the effects of declining enrollment on the mathematics program in Ontario. The group suggests that the main impact of decline on the mathematics program will be an intensification of the existing problems, which include insufficient student practice in mathematical…

Family grouping (a classroom organization plan in which elementary school children of differing chronological and developmental stages are grouped in a single class) is a means for providing continuity between home and school with a minimum of psychological and emotional shock. (MJB)

Provides a personal account of the author's grade school years in the Independence School in Colorado. (AH)