This early childhood curriculum study focused on the practical understandings that teachers held about their classroom experiences, as a way of gaining access to the dynamics of curriculum implementation and innovation. Two problems were addressed: (1) the lack of knowledge about the dynamics of curriculum implementation in settings where early…

This study examined nongraded, multi-age elementary classrooms from the perspective of involved principals, teachers, and parents. Data came from field notes taken at on-site observations and from in-person structured and unstructured interviews with principals and teachers. The schools were all located in a small urban town in north central…

In fall 1993, administrators and faculty at the Crabappple Middle School in Roswell, Georgia, implemented the Multi-Age Team (MAT) program, creating multi-age teams of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students. The projects' main goal was to enhance self-esteem. Additional goals included implementation of interdisciplinary, thematic instruction;…

This study examined the implementation of the seven critical attributes of the primary school curriculum mandated by the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) in a single multi-age primary classroom. The study used a case-study approach over a 16-month period. The seven attributes observed are: (1) developmentally appropriate practices; (2)…

This paper on multiage classrooms provides first steps toward a systemic understanding of the defining qualities of multiage classrooms and, from teachers' perspectives, the benefits of such classrooms for students, teachers, and parents. The multiage classroom movement in elementary schools is viewed as not just restructuring, but also as the…

Multi-Age Teaming (MAT) programs were implemented at Crabapple and McNair Middle Schools in Fulton County, Georgia, in the fall of 1993, and at Camp Creek Middle School in the fall of 1994. An important goal of these programs was the creation of school families within schools with multi-age teams of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students. At…

In fall 1993, administrators and faculty at the Crabapple Middle School in Roswell, Georgia, implemented the Multi-Age Team (MAT) program, creating multiage teams of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students. The project's main goal was to enhance self-esteem. Additional goals included implementation of interdisciplinary, thematic instruction;…