This study investigates primary teachers' and elementary principals' perspectives on alternatives to the traditional model of student progression in school and whether these options may improve the acquisition of skills needed for advancing into upper grades. Primary mastery of basic skills is essential to learning; however, with rigorous federal…

Gifted students are multifaceted, and they come from all different racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. They perform at a much higher level than their peers. As a result, it requires a specific type of teacher to instruct them in the classroom. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore how teaching a gifted self-contained…

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the personality traits, learning environment and academic achievement of children in mixed-grade versus traditional classrooms. The conflicting existing research on the efficacy of mixed-grade classrooms suggests there may be characteristic differences between children that impact…

Students' socioemotional skills must be well developed and should be considered as a crucial component of education. Learning that occurs in an environment that enhances social context and develops socioemotional skills is an ideal environment to ensure readiness to succeed beyond the classroom walls. Multiage classrooms may prove to be a robust…

Younger and older preschool-age children are commonly placed together in mixed age classrooms. However, both theory and empirical evidence conflict over whether mixed age classrooms are the best environment for developing children. A factor that may play a role in the is peer skill as children may benefit from being around more skilled peers. The…

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…

Today's colleges and universities are inundated with both traditional students and returning adult students, including baby boomers and retirees (Hardin, 2008). This study utilized a mixed methods research methodology to explore and analyze the perceptions of faculty members and students regarding the learning characteristics and learning…

Multiage programming is a school reform option used throughout the United States. Much of the current literature focuses on the short-term benefits of multiage programs, particularly at the elementary level, with little consideration for long-term effects or for what might happen to students once they leave the multiage classroom and enter middle…

This longitudinal quantitative study compared literacy achievement of students from second through sixth grade based on two organizational systems: graded (traditional) and nongraded (multiage) classrooms. The California Standards Test (CST) scaled and proficiency scores for English-Language Arts (ELA) were used as the study's independent variable…

Advocates for multi-age classrooms claim multi-age groupings benefit children (Brynes, Shuster, & Jones, 1994). Currently, there is a lack of research examining play among students in multi-age classrooms. If indeed there is a positive benefit of play among children, research is needed to examine these behaviors among and between young children in…

Teachers and administrators are faced with a basic question when planning for a school year: how should the students be grouped when coming to school? Should students of similar age be together or should students be assigned to multi-age classrooms at the elementary school level? If the multi-age method is chosen, how will academic progress be…

This ethnography drew on Vygotsky's (1986, 1978) sociocultural theory of development to understand social emotional learnings of young children. The unique K-8 span of circle group--coupled with intentional activities--provided the rich context for language and interactions between students. Examining a school with a mature philosophy and…

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences between Reading/Language achievement gains of students in multi-age classrooms to the Reading/Language achievement gains of their peers in traditional, single-age classrooms. The causal-comparative quantitative approach to exploring cause-and-effect relationships was employed in this study.…