Blazing New Trails - Connexions

Principals and Teachers Stated Beliefs as Compared with Their Perceptions of Multiage Implementation 191
flexible and changed with different skills and interests. Teachers further explained the need
for differentiated instruction i.e. “teaching the child where he is.” The teachers expressed that
ways they could differentiate were through mini-lessons and the use of cooperative learning.
The teachers explained that mini-lessons would be administered to a small group or a large
group. According to Calkins (1994), mini-lessons were usually 10–15 minutes and were
followed by discussion, practice, and application. Cooperative learning is the instructional
strategy where students are grouped heterogeneously to work together to produce academic
and social gains.
In order to avoid skewing the responses of the participants, no prompts were
suggested. Since prompts were not provided in the questioning, the answers reflected the
participant’s highest priority, not necessarily all their priorities in answering the interview
question. Table 15 represents the three emergent themes from the teachers and principals in
response to the question: “How are individual students’ needs addressed in your multiage
classroom or school?”
Table 15. Meeting the Needs of Individual Students.
Factors Teachers (20) Principals (10)
Pretests/Assessments 20 04
Differentiated instruction 20 10
Flexible grouping 18 04
The principals and teachers agreed that teachers differentiated instruction in order to meet all
students’ needs. A larger percentage of the teachers than principals expressed their beliefs that
in order to meet those needs, assessments and flexible groupings must also be implemented.
The focus of these two qualitative questions was to clarify the practices in the school
setting for the two assumptions that that had the lowest scores on the Principles of Nongradedness
Survey (Anderson & Paven, 1993). The data from the interviews indicated that the areas of Goal
Setting with Teachers and Meeting the Needs of Individual Students were perceived as important
by both teachers and principals and were reflected in classroom practices.
Research Question 4: What factors do teachers and principals believe have contributed
to the success of multiage programs in their school?
The following data were collected from the 10 principals and the 20 teachers when
asked the open-ended question about the factors that have had a positive influence on their
multiage program. In order to avoid skewing the responses of the participants, no prompts
were suggested. Since prompts were not provided in the questioning, the answers reflected the
participants’ highest priority, not necessarily all their priorities in answering the interview
question. Table 16 represents the six emergent themes from the teachers and principals in
response to the open-ended question: “What do you believe has contributed to your success
with multiage instruction?”
At least 80% of the principals who were interviewed agreed with two areas they
believed contributed to a successful multiage program. The two areas were “teacher buy-in to
multiage instruction” and “the need for professional development for new teachers.” The
principals believed that a teacher must understand the multiage philosophy and how
instruction in a multiage classroom should occur. All 10 of the principals referred to
professional development at the beginning of a new multiage program or for new teachers who