TEACHERS VIEWS OF COMBINATION CLASSES

An investigation was conducted of 35 teachers' views about combination classes, a common format typically created by uneven enrollments and involving the teaching of students from two adjacent grades for the en tire day. Most teachers, when asked about their feelings toward, and o rganizational and teaching strategies for, combination classes, respon ded negatively and preferred not to teach them. Teachers felt students should be assigned to combination classes homogeneously by ability, i ndependence, and behavior, but they reported that such approaches were limited by organizational constraints. Although 4 teachers taught the ir classes via whole-class methods and 7 used two groups, 24 used a mi xed grouping strategy, usually dividing the class into separate groups for reading and mathematics and teaching a single group in science an d social studies. Few teachers discussed developmental approaches ofte n used in multiage or nongraded programs, approaches often advocated f or combination classes. Results are interpreted as a consequence of th e lack of understanding of developmental theories underpinning multiag e programs and the contextual constraints of teaching combination clas ses.