Literature reviews that make reference to the limited research on rural education have continued to denounce an imbalance (Little, 1995, 2001; Coladarci, 2007). Our contribution builds on a RDT project, it was to go deeply in the process of how children acquire competences in the rural school and to learn how these competences are situated within the framework of a participative-active methodology. Rural schools give special attention to cultural and social diversity. They could have transferable didactic and organizational components for ordinary (urban and suburban) schools. We analysed, how participative teaching methods are linked to the acquisition of competences that are being carried out in some rural schools in Europe and South America. This paper presents spanish results. By basing our work on previous research results, which affirm that the work in multigrade classrooms implies a greater and more varied selection and use of materials (Bandy, 1980) and educational resources (Marland, 2004; OERI, 1990), we have been selecting different pedagogical themes that emerge from the investigation. Our research combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques. Regarding the choice of the sample, we selected the most effective (successful) rural schools that practiced methodologies that supported learning in heterogeneous groups. In conclusion, our research generates new knowledge about multi-grade teaching like the importance to analyse the teaching strategies used in multigrade classrooms to understand when and why teachers use them. Secondly, to rate the organization of space and time in relation to the didactic strategies used. Then, to browse instructional materials used to support the strategies. Another important topic we explored was to appraise what type of assessment and when it is used. And finally, to look at different concepts that rural teachers use sometimes wrongly, for example the "learning autonomy" concept.

Bandy, H. (1980). The identification of skills and characteristics needed by country schoolteachers. Canada: Education reports. Coladarci, T. (2007). Improving the yield of rural education research: an editor’s Swan Song. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 22 (3). Little, A.W. (1995). Multigrade teaching: a review of research and practice. In Education Research, serial nº 12. Londres: Overseas Development Administration. Little, A.W. (2001). Multigrade teaching: towards an international research and policy agenda. International Journal of Educational Development 21, 481-497. Marland, P. (2004). Preparing teachers for multigrade classrooms: Some questions and answers. University of Southern Queensland. OERI (1990). Teaching combined grade classes: Real problems and promising practices. Virginia: Appalachia Educational Laboratory.