Examination of interviews and surveys provides an overview of the problems and needs of rural school teachers in multigrade classrooms. A review of research and teacher reports in the U.S. and other countries compares instructional methods in multigrade and single grade classrooms. Implications for teacher preparation, classroom organization, and…

Small, sometimes multi-cultural, rural schools need specialized preservice teacher education programs to prepare teachers. After outlining the classroom, school, and sociocultural characteristics affecting a teacher's success and survival in a rural community, this paper discusses the apparent lack of rural content in teacher preparation programs…

This handbook was written to review current research on multigrade instruction, to identify key issues faced by multigrade classroom teachers, and to offer novice teachers a set of resource guides for improving instructional quality. The first chapter reviews previous research on multigrade instruction. It addresses questions regarding the effect…