Turned Off or Ready to Fly? Teacher Perspectives on the Use of Ability Grouping in Primary Schools

Author(s):

Deirdre McGillicuddy(presenting / submitting)Dympna Devine

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

11. Educational Improvement and Quality Assurance

Format:

Paper

Session Information

11 SES 08 B, Teacher’s Approaches to Remedial and Adult Education of Quality

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-04

09:00-10:30

Room:

B232A/B Sala de Aulas

Chair:

Irina Maslo

Contribution

This paper presents findings from an in-depth study of teacher perspectives on the use of differentiation practices (in the form of ability grouping) in primary schools. Increasing attention internationally has focussed on ‘standards’ and performance in education, underpinned by comparative results in literacy, numeracy and science through tests such as PISA and PIRLS. The most recent PISA report (OECD, 2009) has given rise to concerns regarding standards of numeracy and literacy across a range of European countries (including Ireland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Iceland) where there has been a marked decline in attainment outcomes. The increased attention given to Ireland’s declining performance in reading and Mathematics, coupled with previous concerns regarding early school drop-out and the marginalisation of children in poverty has given rise to the publication of a national policy on numeracy and literacy targeted at improving standards among children and young people within the education system more broadly, but most specifically in schools serving the most disadvantaged communities (Darmody, Smyth, & McCoy, 2008; Department of Education and Skills, 2011; OECD, 2009). Such policy and associated directives is having a very explicit impact on teacher strategies, particularly in marginalised schools (Devine, Fahie, & McGillicuddy, 2013). A key recommendation of such policy is the use of differentiation practices, in the form of ability grouping, as an exemplar of best practice towards improving learning outcomes (Department of Education and Science, 2009). Such recommendations contradict findings from PISA which have indicated that education systems with the lowest degree of differentiation achieve the highest mean student performance in reading literacy while less equitable systems are in evidence where there is a greater level of differentiation (OECD, 2005). Indeed, the younger the age at which children are differentiated by ability, the greater the variance in literacy outcomes and as such, the more inequitable the system (OECD, 2005). Although much international research has explored the use of ability grouping at both primary and secondary level (Adelson & Carpenter, 2011; Boaler, 2008; Hornby, Witte, & Mitchell, 2011; Ireson et al., 1999; Smyth, Dunne, Darmody, & McCoy, 2007), with the exception of earlier work by Devine (1993), and more recent work by Mulryan Kyne (2005), there has been a paucity of research into this practice within primary schools in Ireland, also noted with respect to the UK by Hallam and Parsons (2012). The main objective of this research project was to ascertain teacher practice, attitudes and perceptions regarding the implementation and use of ability grouping in primary schools. The study sought to identify national level patterns in the most marginalised primary schools, most specifically in relation to teacher perceptions and experiences of ability grouping in the teaching of numeracy and literacy with respect to (a) teacher and pupil background characteristics, (b) the physical organisation of pupils for learning for numeracy and literacy, (c) the use of ability grouping, (d) the general organisation of children for learning in the classroom, (e) facilitating differing abilities in the classroom and (g) facilitating differing abilities in groups. This paper presents a critical analysis of the extent to which ability grouping is being implemented in Irish schools and examines the rationale and processes involved when assigning pupils to the different ability group levels while exploring teacher perceptions and practices associated with its use in the classroom. The broader theoretical work of Bernstein, and his concepts of framing, classification and the pedagogic device, along with a Bourdieusian perspective of dispositions, habitus, capital and field provide a deeper understanding of the implementation and use of ability grouping in primary school.

Method

Mixed Methods Research and Design (MMRD), also referred to as the third research community (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009), is becoming more popular as a methodological approach within the social sciences, particularly in health, evaluation and education (Bergman, 2011). Employing Mixed Methods Research allows researchers to get closer to the/a ‘truth’ (Greene, 2008). Concurrent mixed methods multiphase design (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003) was employed for the purpose of conducting this research. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved capturing a national picture of the practices teachers employed for grouping children for learning in the classroom generally, and for the teaching of literacy and numeracy specifically, with particular emphasis on the use of ability grouping. This phase involved a national survey of teachers teaching in the most marginalised schools in Ireland. A national survey of teachers teaching in DEIS schools was undertaken in order to explore teachers’ attitudes and perceptions associated with the use of ability grouping in schools. DEIS schools were purposefully sampled as the action plan for educational inclusion, Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS), published by the Department of Education and Skills has promoted the use of “cross-grade groups (for reading groups only) composed of pupils in senior infants to second-class with similar levels of (regularly reviewed) reading achievement” (Department of Education and Science, 2005, p. 37). A tailored design method (Dillman, 2000) was adopted in order to ensure maximisation of the response rate from teachers. The questionnaire sought information about the teacher and their teaching context, classroom organisation procedures, the use of ability grouping, and perceptions associated with the facilitation of abilities in the classroom and within ability groups using Likert scales. A total of 685 teachers responded to the questionnaire and statistical analysis conducted with the data included crosstabulations, correlations, T-tests to identify patterns of significance, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis. The second phase of the study involved capturing a more in-depth picture of the use of ability grouping at the micro level of the classroom. Case studies of three primary schools were conducted for Phase 2. This encompassed classroom and school yard observation, questionnaire surveys (n=93), interviews (n=87) and socio-metric analysis (n=100) with the children (aged 8 and 11 years old) and in-depth interviews with teachers (n=9), principals (n=3) and parents (n=3) in each of the case study schools.

Expected Outcomes

Findings from the national survey of teachers and from the three case study schools indicated that Irish teacher practices and perceptions vary according to their understanding of different learners and their capacity to learn across ability group levels. Classroom context was found to play a significant role in shaping both the nature of pedagogic action employed by the teacher and the perceptions/expectations they held for different learners (such as younger children, boys, minority ethnic and below average ability pupils, and those attending the most marginalised schools). Teachers were found to adapt their practices in line with their perceptions of learner identities associated with being assigned to each ability level, with higher ability children exposed to fast pace, independent learning experiences and lower ability pupils experiencing repetitive, adult supervised, structured learning environments. The opportunity for children to learn also varied across ability group levels, with differentiation approaches and resources adopted according to the perceived ability of a group. Evidence also emerged that ability groups were perceived by teachers to be homogenous in pupil composition, meaning that the children assigned to each group were identical rather than similar in terms of their ability and learning style. The way in which teachers constructed the learner identities associated with each ability group was further illustrated in their perception of classroom management. Children assigned to the lower ability groups were considered to be challenging to manage, while higher ability children followed the rules. Although teachers believed that ability grouping defined the boundaries of difference between the children by creating awareness in terms of ability positioning in the class, they did not feel that such awareness evoked a psycho-social response from the pupils, and nor did they think that it impacted on the formation of their identities as learners.

References

Adelson, J. L., & Carpenter, B. D. (2011). Grouping for Achievement Gains: For Whom Does Achievement Grouping Increase Kindergarten Reading Growth? Gifted Child Quarterly, 55(4), 265-278. Boaler, J. (2008). What’s Math got to do with it? Helping children learn to love their least favourite subject and why it’s important for America New York: Penguin. Department of Education and Science, D. (2005). DEIS Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools: An Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. Dublin: Government Publications. Department of Education and Science, D. (2009). Effective Literacy and Numeracy Practices in DEIS Schools. Dublin: Department of Education and Science. Department of Education and Skills, D. (2011). Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life; The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020. Malborough Street, Dublin 1: Department of Education and Skills. Devine, D. (1993). A study of reading ability groups: Primary school children's experiences and views. Irish Educational Studies, 12(1), 134-142 Devine, D., Fahie, D., & McGillicuddy, D. (2013). What is ‘good’ teaching? Teacher beliefs and practices about their teaching. Irish Educational Studies, 32(1), 83-108. Dillman, D. (2000). Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. New York: J. Wiley. Hallam, S., & Parsons, S. (2012). Prevalence of streaming in UK primary schools: evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study. British Educational Research Journal, 1-31. Hornby, G., Witte, C., & Mitchell, D. (2011). Policies and practices of ability grouping in New Zealand intermediate schools. Support for Learning, 26(3), 92-96. Ireson, J., Hallam, S., Mortimore, P., Hack, S., Clark, H., & Plewis, I. (1999). Ability Grouping in Schools: Practices and Consequences: Institute of Education. McGillicuddy, D. (2013) Cycle of Constraint: A study of perspective and practice of ability grouping for literacy and numeracy in DEIS primary schools in Ireland, PhD. Thesis, Dublin, University College Dublin Mulryan Kyne, C. (2005). The grouping practices of teachers in small two-teacher primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 20(17), 1-14. OECD. (2005). School Factors Related to Quality and Equity: Results from PISA 2000. OECD. (2009). PISA 2009 Results: Executive Summary. Smyth, E., Dunne, A., Darmody, M., & McCoy, S. (2007). Gearing up for the exam? The experiences of junior certificate students. Dublin: Liffey Press/ESRI. Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2009). Foundations of Mixed Methods Research: Integrating Quanitative and Qualitative Approaches in the Social and Behavioural Sciences. London: SAGE Publications

Author Information

Deirdre McGillicuddy (presenting / submitting)

University College Dublin

Education

Dublin

Dympna Devine

University College Dublin, Ireland

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