The purpose of this panel discussion is to focus on the potential and capability of multigrade classrooms (those with children across a wide age range) as spaces for creativity and innovation. Informed by the research work of the panel members, there will be discussion of the opportunities and possibilities offered by multigrade classrooms, for development of teaching and learning, in national school systems, with a focus on equity and social justice.

National schooling systems tend to be informed by mass education models and associated economic funding arrangements to minimise costs and maximise efficiencies. Economic efficiencies and desire for standardised provision of education across a national school network may lead to national curricula, standardised teacher education, standardised approaches to the assessment and examination of students and standardised inspection and evaluation of school ‘success’. State funded national schooling systems tend to have structures to organise and evaluate the teaching and learning that takes place in the schools and other sites of education. These national systems tend to be ‘norm referenced’ with centralised organisation of key components of formal education such as curricula, assessment, buildings, teacher training/education/preparation and evaluation/inspection. The standardisation of schooling systems also tends to see students being grouped by age (or grade) and so the majority of the world’s children attending schools, are taught in monograde classrooms. Notwithstanding, UNESCO reports that globally, about 30% of children are enrolled in multigrade classrooms (Little, 2006).

Global challenges such as climate change, war and economic crises mean that taken for granted population distribution at national, regional and local levels are changing. For example, Japan is seeing population decline contingent with migration of people from rural areas to cities. There are now many schools in rural areas of Japan with very few children and consequently big changes to the national school network are being developed (Ueda, 2012). Conversely, in England, central areas of London are experiencing depopulation, particularly regarding families with school age children owing to the   unaffordability of housing and costs of living in the metropolis (London Councils, 2024). These examples of global social shifts, open up spaces for us to consider local school network developments, juxtaposed with national level social issues.

In light of such contemporary observations, we challenge standardised schooling models where multigrade classes are invariably considered to be spaces outside the norm and hence peripheral and problematic. We argue that our research shows quite the opposite; these multigrade classrooms can be understood as spaces for thinking and doing differently (Apple, 1990). With suitable resourcing such as the preparation of teachers, appropriate curricula and learning materials, multigrade classrooms can be spaces of innovation and change. We also contend that if these multigrade classrooms are considered peripheral and outside the ‘norm’, researching in these margins, helps develop ‘repositioning’ (Apple, 2001) of analytical frameworks, using the periphery to illuminate the inner workings of national school systems.

Panel members will make short presentations on their research from Turkey, Serbia, Spain, England and Finland, with examples of where national schooling systems can learn from multigrade classes. These presentations include: The importance of teacher competencies in active teaching and learning in multi-grade classes in Serbia; How the non-profit sector can better support multi-grade schools in Turkey; Learning lessons from multi-age teaching and learning- case studies from two small schools in England; the experience of class teachers and principals from Finland, regarding the benefits for pupils of learning in multi-grade classes. The discussant will draw together key points raised through presentations and discussions, looking for potential and capablities of multigrade classrooms to offer up spaces in national schooling systems, for considering teaching, teacher preparation and learning ‘otherwise’

Apple, M. (1990) Ideology and the curriculum. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul Apple, M. (2001) Educating the right way. London, Falmer Press Little, A.W. (ed.) (2006) Education for All and multigrade teaching: Challenges and opportunities. Dordrecht: Springer. London Councils (2024) Managing falling school rolls in London. https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/test-newsroom/2024/managing-falling-school-rolls-london Ueda, M (2012). Federation and the role of the school leader: focusing on the England approach. https://www.nier.go.jp/English/research/ResearchBulletin/141.html