From Small School to Large Schooll Students' Perceptions of Their Experience.
ATh e si s
In partial fulfillmen t of th e requ i r e me nt s for Master of Edu c a t i on
By ChrisVi n cent
submitted to the Faculty of Educat ion Memoria l University of Newfoundland
St. John's, Newfoundland August 11, 1994
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Abstract
This thesis is a qualitativestudy of the transitionof studentsfrom a smal lschool to a large school. Interviews were done with ten graduating students whohad attended a small school for their kindergartento gradenine years. Theywereth e n bused to a large high school for thei r high school education. Thisstudy explor es th e nature of th a t transitionfromtheir pointofvi e w.
The studentsrelatedmemoriesof a close, friendly atmosphere where they receivedalot of indiv idualattention in the small school. Theyco n t r a ste dth a t wi tha moreformal atmosphereand lack ofindi v i du a l attention in the la r g e school. Students relatedproblems of adjustingacademically and sociallyin the large school. They statedthat they felt some discriminationagainst theminthela r g e school, foun d the bus tripdifficul t,and had greatdi f f i c u l t y with get ting involved inex t r a-cu r r i cu la r activities.
Th e students felt that theyha d been as well prepared fo r high school asth eirclassmates fromth e large school, andstatedthatth e y had donewe l l in highschool. All students felt that they wouldhavegottenbetteracademic gradesinthe small school, i f the ycould have done high schoolthere,but wouldhave had amo r e restricted li st of course offerings tocho o s e from. However, nin e of the ten state d tha t inre t r o s p ec tth ey wouldcho o s e togo to the lar ge schoolaga in, be c ausetheyfelt that due to the
diversityof its academic and social offerings i t prepared them better for poac - secondary education.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Dr. Dennis Mulcahy, my supervisor, for his inputin t o this thesis. His guidance, and seemingly inexhaustible suggestions and re c omme n da t i o n s made it possible for me to completethis work. He was alwaysthere to give me feedback when I needed it. Without his encouragement and enthusiasmthis wor-k would not have been the pleasure that i t has be en for me.
I must also thank Dr. Clar Doyle for being a valuable member of this thesis committee. His guidance in getting this study started was invaluable. Wh e nI wa s not quite sure how to proceed, andwha t form the study wouldtake, hewa s thereto outline possibilities. His suggestions tookme from ideas to action.
IacknowledgeEarl andAnnie Vincent, my parents, for instillingin me a value for education and encouraging, sup porting,and sometimespushing me in my effortsto develop skills and acquire knowledge.
Centralto this study was agroup of ten at ude nt awh o had gone through a tran sition from a small school to a large school. Their willingnessto g:l.ve up their time to talk abouttheir experiences ma d e i t possible to do this study.
For thatI am grateful to them. I also thankthe supe rintende ntof th e school district and the principal of theschool wherethe study tookpl a c e for their kind permission to proceedwith the study.
This thesis is dedicated to my wife Sheila and my daughter Christa, who supported me through the research an dwriting. I thank them for so pat.LentLy allowing me towork for hourswithout interruption , and for all of their love and
encourage ment.
Tabl e of Cont e n ts
Chapter1 - Introduction . . . . Smallschools . . . . . . . Smallschools inNewfoundlandand Labrador Focus of the study.
Definition of terms . . Purpose of the study Limitations of the study significance of the study
Chapter 2 - Methodology. Introduction . . . . Qualitative research participants in the study The smal l school The large school Data collection Data Analysis Conclusion . . .
Chapter 3 - Review of literature Introduction
Small schools Multi-grade classrooms
Achievement in multi -gradeclasses
11 11 14 17 19 21 22 23
25 25 25 28 30 31 33 35 35
37 37 37 41 43
Advantagesand disadvantagesof themu lti - gra de
classroom 50
Other indicatorsof achievemen t 54
Dr op-outrates . 55
participationinext r a - cu r r i cu l a r ac ti viti es 58 Par t i cipat ioninpost-s econda ry educ a tion 60
Summary 61
chap t er4 -Pre se nta tion of dat a 64
Introduc t i on. 64
Owen. . . 65
Perceptionsof thesmall schoo l experience 66 Ant icipa tion of thela r ge schoolexperience. 69 Impressi ons ofthe large school . 71
Socialization . . . 75
Extra-cu rr i cularaandbusing 76
Final refl e c t i ons . . 77
Tru dy . . . 80
Perceptionsofthe smallschoolexp e ri enc e 80 Anticipation of the la rge schoolexperience. 81 Impr e s s io ns of the lar ge scho o l . B3
socializat io n . 86
Extra- cur r i cu larsand busing a7
Finalreflections sa
Theodore . 92
Percept ionsof thesmallschool experience 92
Anticipation of thela r g e achoot experience 94
Impressions of the large school 96
Socialization . . . 98
Extra-curriculars and busing 99
Final reflections . . . 100
Ford . . . ) 04
perceptions of the small school experience 104 Anticipation of the large ecnccn experience 106 Impressions of the large school 106
Socialization . . . . 110
Extra-curriculars and busing 112
Final reflections . . . 113
Philip . . . 117
sercepc rone of the small school experience 118 Anticipation of the large school experience 121 jmpr-e aadona of the large school 123
Socialization . . . 127
Extra-curriculars and busing 129
Final reflections . . . 130
Sidney . . . 135
Perceptions of the small school experience 135 Anticipation of the large school experience 137 Impressions of the large school 139
Socialization . . . . 141
zxt ra-cur r Lvuf e ra and busing 143
Final reflections . . . 144
Eva n . . . 14 7 Perceptions of thesmal l schoolexpe rience 147 Anticipationof the largeschool experience 150
Impressionsofth e large school 152
Socializa tion. . . 155
Extra-curricula rsandbu s ing 156
Fi na l reflections. . . 157
Eileen. 16'
perc e pt i on s of the smallschoo l ex p e ri e n c e 162 Anti ci pa tio n of the large schoolex pe r i e n ce 165 Imp r e s s i o n s of the large school 167
So c iali z a t i on . 17 0
Extra-curriculars an dbus i ng 171
Fi n a l reflections. . . . 173
Nelson . . . 178
Perceptionsof th e small school experience 178 Antic ipation of the large sc hoo l experience 180
Impressions ofth e large school 182
Socialization . . . 185
Ex t r a- curr i c ula rsand bu s i ng 187
Fina l reflectio ns . . . laa
Ted 193
perceptionsof the smallschool ex pe r i e n c e 193 Antic ipa tionofthe large sc hoo l expe ri e n c e 195
Impressions of the large school 19 6
Socializa t i on . . . 199
10
Extra-curricularsand busing 201
Final reflections 202
Conclusions . . . 205
Chapter5 - Summary and discussion 206
Introduction . 206
Small school memories . 206
Multi·grading . . . 207
Anticipa tionsof thela r g e school exp e ri ence 20 9 First impressions of the la r g e school 211 Academicadjustmentand tr a ns it i o n 21 2
Social adjustment and transition 215
Extra ·curricularparticipat i on 221
Busing 223
Pertinent individualpoints 225
Final thoughts 228
Recommendationsfor action . 232
Recommendat ionsfor furtherstudy 234
Reference list . .
Appendix . . • . . • . • .
235
. • 246
11 Chapter 1 • Introduct ion
Smal l schools
It appears asif educators cannot agree on what constitu tesa small school. There seemsto be as many definitionsof small schools as there areeducational jurisdictions. Beckner andO'Neal (1980) pointedout that there is a tremendous variationbetween recommended school sizes acrossAmerican jurisdictions. Huling (1980) sawany school with less than threehundred and fifty studentsas a small school. Horn (1 991 ), in a study of rural/smallschool effectiveness, studiedschools with populations of less than one thuusand students from kindergarten to grade twelve. Galtonand Patrick (1990), in studying small schools, chose primary schoolswith less than one hundred students. In Newfoundland and Labradora small school is defined as one wh i c hhasa mean grade enrolment of twe lveor less, or, for a school where anysenior high school courses are provided, where the mean grade enrolment is twent yfive orle s s {Gove rnme n t of Newfoundandand Labra dor, 198 7 } .
In an examinat ionof th e push to consolidate emaIl schools in the United States, Sher and Tompkins (1977) identified str e ng thsof small schools. Theystated th at small schoolsprovidesuch adv antagesas, "lo c al contro l ; closere l a t i o n samong professionals, parents, students, and community; and the opportunityfor manymc're studentsto
12 participatein school activitiesata mo r e meaningfulle v e l "
(p. 57). They continuedwitha literat urereview citing several studies (Whiteand Twe e t en, 197 3 ; Cohn,196B;
Kriet low, 1371; Coleman ,Jencks, andothers, 1966; Raymond, 1968; Kiesling, 1968 ; Hirsch, 1959; &Sewelland Haller, 1964)which had shown that large schools cannot; be proven to provide: better qualityof facilities, equipment, and learning opportunities; betterpreparationfor post-secondary education; andhi ghe r parti cipationra t e s in extra-c u rri cular activities. Further, they pointed out that students had more frequentle a d e r s hip oppor tunities in small schoo lsthanin larger schools, due to smallnumbers creating moredependence on a larg e r proport ionof the student population.
Thereare also those whoco n t e nd thatsmall schools have many disadvantages. Levin andMar s h a l l (198 5 ) pointed out that smal lschoolsdo not have as many facil i tiesas large schools. Beckner and O'Neal (1980 )contended thatsmall schools: cost moreto operate; have mor e limited curriculum offerings; ha ve difficultiesin acquiring and maintaining qua l i fiedsta ff; experiencea negative at ti tudetowards the multi -gradeorgan ization;and provide limitedsocial opportunityto contact people of differentbackgrounds.
Mult i-gradingis an important featureof small, ru r al sc hools. MUlcahy(19 9 3 ) stated that "mult i-g r a dingis the single, mo s t pervasiv e, uhaz-e dcurricularchar-eocez-La cLc of small, ruralschoolsno t only inNewf ou n d l a n d andLa b r a dor
13 butall over the world- (p. 5) . Gal ton and Patrick (1990) also reported findingmul ti · g r a di ng ineverysmall school in theirstudy. Because ofthi s cl oselink bet....ee nsmal l schoolsan d multi-gradeclas s r oom s it is importantin this stUdyto look at the multi-g r ade ph e n o me no n .
Negative feelingsabout mul t i-gra d e classrooms are pr ev a lent amon g pa rents, students , te ac he rs , andpr incipa l s (Gaja d ha rs i n g h, 1991 ; &Mulc a h y, 19 93 ). Veenman, vcece n , and Lem(1~ 8 7) found that parentsfelt th a t st u de n t s in mixed-a g e cl a s s e s wouldnot achi e ve aswe l l, acad e mical l y , as student s in si ng le-g r a decl asses. In a submiss ion to a1990Ro ya l Commiss i o non EducationinNewfou nd l and and Labrador . the NewfoundlandTeache rs ' Associa tionadvocatedelimination of small schools and mul ti-gradeclassrocmswhere ver poss i ble. I tis clearthat many peopl e associated witheducationhave st r ongfe e l i ng s abo ut multi-gra de classrooms, and they are usually negative.
Insmal l schoolsmUlt i -gra de cla s s r oo ms continue to be seen as an administ rativenec e s s i tyra the r than aviabl e educa t i on alorganiz at ion. Gajadha r sing h (1991) found that the re a so nsgivenbyprincipa ls and super i ntende nts for combini ng gradeswerebasedon sho r t term admini st r a t i v e considerations, suchasenrolment, balanc :l.ngclass sizes, budget constraints , and us e of availableresources, rather tha nlong term pe d a gog icalconside ra tio n s . Compoundingtho se pr oblemsis the lackof curricul ummate ria l sde sig ne d for
14 multi-grade cteeercone. Mul c a hy (1993) stated that
"CUrriculum design, inctructional development. and pre- service and in-service teacher educationhave generally proceeded asif small schools with their unique needs and characteristics did not exist" (p.l). According to Gajadharsingh (1991) over eighty per-cent;of smal lschool teachers have no specialized training inteaching multi.- grades,and use the regUlar single-gradecurriculum in their cl a s s r oo ms . This points to a feeling among all stakeholders in educationthat the educational process in small schools is inferiorto that in large schools.
Itappears as i feducators are divided as to whether small schools are educationally viable. Some haveargued that small schools cannot provide the facilitiesand services needed bystudents, wh i l eoth~"?maintain that close feelings between school and community, andincreased opportunitiesfor student involvement in activities more than compensate for the shortcomings of small nchoote .
Smal l sch oo lsinNewfo und landaDdLlibrador Newfoundland and Labradoris a predominantly rural pr o v i n c e withitsec o nomy based pr i ma r i ly on the fiahery.
Such aneconomy has dictatedthatsettlementbe spreadwidely along the coast. Until re c e nt yearsmost rural communi ties we r eis o l a t e d , whichmeant that they had tobeeeLf- sufficient wi t hre s p e c t to providing services such as
15 education . This meant that no matter how small the community i thad its own, us u all y one ortworo om, school in which childrenof all ages were educated to g eth er. The fact that schools were runby individual religiousdenominations contributedto keeping schools small, since eachcommu nit y ha d as many schools as religiousdenominations.
sin ce the 196 0's co n st r u c t ion of road links for many of the small ruralcommun i t i e s made it poss ibleto bUB st u d en t s to largercentra l ized schools,where single-gradeclassrooms were possible . In thelate1960'8small schoolswithmult i- grade classrooms were viewedunfavourably from an educational and econom i c viewpoint. and a large scale attempt to elimina te th em was begun (Doo d y, 19 90) . AccorJing to Mulcahy
(1993) some school boards at the timeportrayedsmall sch oo ls as euo-ut.andaxdandinf eri or in their push forconsolidation and larger schools. Asa result, in recent yearssma l l schoolsand multi-gra de classrooms are seen as an artifact of the past by mo s t teachers, and are rarely mentioned in teachertr ai ning (Mulcahy, 1993 ). Insp it e of that, due to the denominationaleducat ionsystem and great distances betweensome communities . many communit ies continueto operate one or more small schools.
Ac c o r d ingto the definition given earlierfor Newfoundlandand Labradorthe r e we re onehun d r e d and seventy eight small schools in this provinceinth e 1992- 1 993 school year (Go ver n me n t of Newf o u ndl a n d and Labrador, 1993) . With
16 fi v ehun d r ed andone school s inNewfoundl and and Labr ador sma llschoolsap pr oxima t e thirty fivepercentofi t sschools.
In d ications are that those numbers will increasein the nea r fu t u re unless manyschool s are consolidated. press (1990) sta tedthat Newfoundland 's school enrolmenthasdecl ined by 44 000 s inc ethe1971-72schoolye a r,and is pr es ent l y decliningbyapproximately 3000 a year. He alsoprojected tha t bythe year 2000 there will be onl y 100 000 students enraled in our schools.andthe bi r t h ratewi l l be fewerthan 6000per year. Combined wi t hpresenteconomic constraints, an d possible fur t her depopu l ation due to thefi s heri e s fa i lure, suchrealit ie scanonlypoint to furtherdownsiz ing of school sand expansionof mult i-grade classrooms in this province. Mu l c a hy (1 9 93) stated that multi- g radeclassrooms are a rura l phenomeno n in this province , but Gajadharsingh's (1 9 9 1 )fin di ng s tha t na t i ona ll y it is an urban phe nomenon couldpoint to emi nent mul t i-grade clas s r oom developmentin ur banareasin this province.
Ifwe arebo und forfurther increases in the numbers of smal l scho ol s andmUl ti-gradeclassroo ms,wemu s t tu r n our att e ntio nto de velopi ngprograms an dteac h i ng strategies for th a t teachingorgani za tion. Sincesuch a siz ab lenumber of our stude ntsattendsma ll schools it wouldbe in those stu dents' interestto identify thepositive aspects of such sc hools and util izeth e min making thesc hool expe r ience as efficient and profi table fo r studentsas possi ble. Educa tors
17 shouldbe able tocite bett erreasonsfor the existenceof sma llschoolsthan administrative expadLence , andres ou r c e s should
be
turned to developing curricularmaterials specificallydeBigne:d forsuch schoo ls. Before doing 80 informationmust begathered on the strengths and weaknesses of small schools. It seems reasonable thatill goodbe gi nn i n g poi ntfo r gat he ringsuch inf ormat ionwouldbe fr om studen ts who have attendedboth small and largeschools duri ngtheir schoo l ca r e e r s .Focusofthe study
Thefocus ofthi s studyisth e transi t i onalex p e riences of studentswhoha vegone throu gha move froma smallschool toa lar g e school. This study exploresthena t u r e of the tr a n s it i o n a l exper ie ncefrom theperspectiveof the students inv olved .
Effortsto co ns ol id at e schools inNewfoundlandand Labradorhaveledto decapit.ationofmany communityschools. This means that incommunities wheresmall,all gradeschools once exis te dthe high school studentsare now being busedto lar g e rce nt r es, wheretheycan at tend large consolid a tedhigh sch o o ls. It isbe lievedthatin suc h achooka theycanbe pro v i dedwithhigh erquality faciliti e s an d equipment, an d be given abro ader ra nge of cou rs echoices (Dood y , 1990 ) . Th is leav e sstudentsattend i n gverysmallschool sfortheirearly schooling and muchlarger sc h ool s fo r high scho o l.
re Such a move fr om a small schoal, wherestu dents spend as much as theirfirst ten yearsof schooling,to a large school could necessitate a tremendous adjustment forstudents. If the r e is a substantial difference between the atmospheresin smal lschools and large schoolsit could be expected that the transition would pose problemsfor the students.
Th i s study usedin te r v i ew s with ten students,who have experienced the transition fr om a smallschool to a la r ge schoo l, to explore their perceptions of the transitional experience. In the interviews the participants were asked to re l a t e their memoriesof life in the sma l lschool, their perce ptionsof the large school in their first year there, and their perceptions of the differences betweenlarge and smal l schools. Theywere ask edto elaborate on any problems wh i c h they found associatedwith attending the large school. They were asked such questionsas:
1. Whatdo you remember of li f e inthe smallschool?
2. Wh e nyo u graduated from the small schoolwouldyou have chosen to remainth e r e for highschool i fthat choicehad been offered?
3. Wh il e in the small school what stories did you hear about life in thela r ge school?
4. What were your impressions ofth~~largesc h o o l on your first day there?
5. Wh a t adjustments did you have to make in your first year in thelarge school?
6 . Do you thinkyou had been well preparedfor high schoolbythe small school?
7. Howdo you thinkyour academic skillscomparedto those of stude ntsfromthe large school in your first year there?
8. How did you fit in soci all y in your firstye ar in the larg e school?
9. Did you feel any discriminationagainst you, either sociallyor academical ly, in the large school?
1.0. Howmuch did you participate in extra-curricular activitiesin thelarge school, and why orwhynot?
11. Howdid you findthe bUBtrip to the large school?
12. Whatdid yo umissabout the small school while you wereattending thelarge school?
13. What advise wouldyou give new students entering the large school from the smallschool?
14. If given theopportun ityagainwouldyou choose to attend the large school foryour hig hsc h ool ye ar s , in light of your present expe rienc e s?
Defin ltion ofte rms
Achievement- Studentperformance in terms of high school grades, dr op out rat es,social contributiontothe school, an dpar t icipa tionin post-secondary educa t i o n . Grades - The average of fin al gra desgi v en fo r eachhigh
schoolcourse.
20 Drop out rat e - The pe r c en t a ge of students who leave school,
for anyreas on other than death, be f or e graduation. social contributionto the school - Participationinschool
organizations, clubs, committees, and sports.
Poat-secondaryparticipation - Entrance int o a post-secondary educational institution after complet ionof high SChool.
Mul t i -gradeclassroom- Any classroomwhere more thanone grade is taught at anyone time.
Single-gradeclassroom - Any classroomwhere only one grade is taught at anyone time.
Small school- Any school with Le ar thantwelve atudents per grade.
Rural school- Anyschool serving anarea of less than five thousand people.
Doublegrade - A classroom inwhich two grade level sis being taught at the same time.
Combined class - Anyclassroom where students of more than one age work together for the purpose of learning.
Vertical grouping-Anysituation where students of more than one age are grouped together for the purpose of learning .
Non-graded class-Any class where studentswork at the level of their ability in learning and progressaccording to their individual work.
21 Pur poseof the stu dy
Itseema that many stakeholders in theeducationprocess feel very stronglythat the smal l school, mUlti-grade organization for teaching and learningis inferior to the la r g e school , single-grade organization. If th i s i s accurate then st u d e nts whore ce ive th e i r primary,elementary,and jun i o rhi g hed u c a tio n in a small schoolwit hmult i-grade classroo ms sho uld be infe ri o rinth ei r level of academi c achievemen tand find i t very difficul t toadjust to the large sc h o o lsi tuatio n, withsingle-gradeclassrooms. It couldbe reasonablyexpe c tedth at those studentswould find the tra n s it i o n diffic ultand that their academicac hievement and social ad j u stm e n t wouldsu f f er. Theirself- conce p t could als o be affected negatively, fur the rcompoun d ing their difficul ties.
Studen tswho have experienced thi s transi t i on froma smal l scho olto ala r g e r schoolcoul dprovide very important insight s intothis si t u a t i o n. Thereareasmall nu mb er of sch o o l situationswhichpresent an opportunity to studythis phenomenonin this province. One such schoal system, where students are bused to acent r al highschool aftergradenine, has be enus ed forthis study. Studen tswho are presently in the i r graduat ing yea r , and who camefromthe small primar y- junior highschool ,maybe able to provide us wi th inf o r ma ti o n and ide as, based on theirexper iences. wh i ch will help us provide aneasiertransitionfor futurestudents in
22 the same situa tion. The pu rposeof this study is t.o explore the natu reof the experienceof movingfrom a small school to a la rg e school fromthe students ' perspective . The central concerninthisinquiry is the students' pe r c e pti ons of thei r ach ievement and participation in the la r gerschool. Of particularinterest for th i s studyare the students' views as to the impact of their smal l school experiences on their latereducat ionalachievement.
Limitationso£ the study
This study used a qualitativemethodologyfor collecting and reporting the participant s ' perceptions of the transi t i on froma smallschool to a largeschool, The datacollecting methodologyof cho i c e was individual interviews . Whensuc h a methodologyis employed it is verytime consuming , necessitatingstudyof onlysmall group s. Th is was appropriate in thisstudysincethere were tenst ud e n t s avai lable who had the experiencewhi ch is being studied, allowing this methodology to beemployed. It must be understoodtha t this represents ju st one small group inone situa tio n , and theresults shouldnot be genera li ze d outside of th eun i q ue sit uatio nbeingst u die d . It is also important to notethateach participant'sexperience isuni qu e andmay not coincidewith the experiences ofother participants.
Italsomustbe noted that thisstudy reportson lyth e perceptionsand experiences ofthi s groupof students. There
2J is no attemptto validatetheirperceptions, and no atte mp t to justi fythem. The participants' perceptions may exist in realityor only in their imaginations,but howeverthey do exist they represent perceivedreality for the participants, govern how thestudentsact, and dd ctnt e the quality of th e i r school experiences. Therefore,they provide valuable insights into the natureof thetransitionfrom asmall school to a large school.
SJ..gni tJ.can ceof thestu dy
With studies suggesting to us that small schools are likelyto be are a li t y in Newfoundlandand Labrador for the foreseeablefuture (Press,19 90 ;an d Mulcahy, 1993). i tis important forus to increase our knowledge and understanding of how this experience affects studentsand their subsequent achievement. It is fairly well documented in the literature that being in a small primary/elementaryschool with multi- grad e classrooms does not necessarilyhave a negative impact onstudent achievementat that level (Gajadharsingh& Melvin, 1987; Penney, 19 9 2 ; Brown&Ma r t i n , 1989; and Ford, 1977). But wh a t happens subsequently? How do those students perform andpart i c i p a t e when they transfer to largerschools? Such knowledgemay be used toin form future decision makingabou t the viabi lityof small schools and multi-grade classrooms.
As has been noted by researcherssuch as Bell and Sigswcrth (1987) and Galton andPat r ick (1990), there have
24 been very few attempts toinvestigatethe views of those most directlyaffected bymultiMgradingand small schools- the students. No investigations int oth etrans,~tion from a smal l school to a large school , fr om the students' perspectivet could befound. Hence , this studyhas thepotentialto ma,(e a unique contribution notonly to the understa nd ingof the Ne wf oundl a n d and Labrador context but to the overallfield of small schools research.
25 Chapter 2• Methodology
Introducti on
The pur-pone of this chapteris to outline the theory behind this study, and the procedurewh i ch was followed in collecting and reporting on the data. This is a qu a'l Lt ct.Ive study and the data is reported in a narrative way, inclUding direct quotationsfrom the participants. It is hoped that such an approach wi l lprovideno t only thedatawhich was collected ,but also a sense of the students' feelingsab o u t the transitionfrom a small schoolto a large school.
Ouall ta tlvltresearch This studyis theoreticallybased on symbolic interactionism. This theory,as articulatedby Blumer (1 9 6 9 ) , establishesthat meaning is given to objects, and events by people. based on their inter pretat.ionsof the act.ionsof peopleandgroupsint.eracting. This meansth a t realitycan change from person to person and group to group depending on how those people and groups interact.an d the symbolic meaning whichthey attribute to events and objects.
Reality for studenc a may be quit.e different than realtty for teachers, administrators, or parente. Failuresor successes perceived by teachers,administrators, andperence may not be seen in t.he same light by the studentswho aredirectly in v o l v ed . Rumaninteract ionsand attribution of meanings are
26 suchacomplexfield of study tha t i tis best suited to study wi t hanope n -ende d, qualitative ap pr o a c h , which wi l l allow freedomfor subjectsto expresstheir concep tions of reality.
Ary. Jacobs, andRaza vieh, (1990) stated that qual itativeresearchtakesas a fundamental premiseth at :
social re a l i t y . . . cannotbe reduced to variables in the same manneras physicalreality, and what is most importantin the social disciplines is understanding and portra yingthe meaning thatis constructed by the participants inv olve d in particular social settin~iBor events. {p , 445) The y went on to say that, "Qualit'itive inquiry seeks to understandhuman and social behaviour from the 'insider' B' perspect ive. . ." {p. 445). They a1.30 made the point that this methodof research acknowledges chat; the perceptions of participantsand researchersarehighl}'subjective, and must be co n sid e r e d in the research frame.
Ar y et a1. (1990) arguedthat, in contrast, quantitative approaches, whi ch are basedon the hypothetical-deductive model of inquiry, "isprincipally concernedwi t h the discoveryof 'social facts' devoid of subjective perceptions or intentions and divorced from particular ace La I and hi s t o r i c al contexts " (p. 445 ) . The quantitativeinquirer attempts to be objective and to keep his/herva l u e s out of the study as muchas is possible.
A qualitative method of inquiry was chosenfor this studybe c a us e of it s SUbjective nature. This study is inquiringinto students' percepcionsof their experiences in ma k i ngth e transition from a smallschoo l to a large school.
27 Ea chstud e n t wi l l have had adi ff erent expe rience,an d thereforewill havedif fere nt perceptions . Lincoln and Guba (198 5) statedthat qualitative methods are better suited to studyingmultiple rea litiesbecause they are more sensitive tot.l-e shapingin f l u en c e s and value patternsth a t are encountered byboth the researcherand the subjects. A qualitativeresearchdesignis best suited to consideringthe surprise, disorder , and contradiction found ina phenomenon
(Peshkin, 1987). Jus t i c e couldnot be done to thenature of this inquiry by taking narrow, clinical snapshots of phenomena at fixedpoints in time. A qualitativeapproach allowsfor a more open-ended inquiry, mo r e approximatingthe natureof the social world inwh i c h the students find themselves (Morgan&Smircich, 1980). Merriam (1989) contendedthat qualitativ"lmethode haveno predeterm ined hypotheses to limit and direct them, therefore allow discoveriesto be made about thephe n o menon under investigation.
The data collecting method of choice in this studywa s open ended questions. Interviews are a principal method used in qualitativeresearch to allow the researcherto become familiar with the participants' point ofvie w (Jacob, 1987). Suchinterviews al low for interactionbetweenthe researcher and the participants . The researcher can ask participants to elaborate on aspects of their experienceand explain unclear responses. Ary, Jacobs, and Razavieh, (1990) pointedout
28 that, ~Theopen ended response format permitsgreater freedom of expression for the respondents and pr ov idesa wide rrange of ze apcnaeee (p.419). Itwas feltbythe researcherthat in order to gain full ins i g ht intothe experienceof transitionfroma small schoolto a large school it was necessarytoget a wide rangeof freely expressedresponses from th e participants. Verba ti m stateme nts fromthe participantswere used extensively in the repo rting to present their thoughts as object ivelyas possible (Jac ob , 1988) . The participants' re s p o n s es were st r u c t u r e din to themes, issues, and concerns for analysis and discussion.
Par ti cipant sin the stUdy
The participants in thisstudy are ten students who comp.cet.ed thei rkindergartento gradenine educatio nin a small school, with a popuLat.Lon of one hundred and twenty stu dents. They then proceededto ala r g e highschool, witha populat.Lon of th r e e hundred an dfifty students, for their level one to three studies. At the timeof thisstudythe students were comp letingle v e l threeof high school.
The selected students began School as the198 1 - 8 2 kindergartencla s sof thesmall school , with a to t a l of eighteen students in thecl a s s . Of tha t- eighteen, two transferred out of the area andcoul d notbetr a c e d , five transferred tosc ho o l systemsother thanthat beingst-udied, eit-her before high school or torthe i r high schoolyears, two
as wereaccelerate doneye a r and havemoved on to university, one fellbehindhis classmates, one left school early, and seven continued throughthe schoo l systemto arrive at their graduatingye a r inth e large school on time. Alsofound in the 1994 graduatingclassat thela r g e school were two students whohad transferredto the small school after having begun their schooling in another, similar, school in the small community, and one student who had attended the small school oneye a r in advance of the class being studied, but remained in the largehigh school for an additionalye a r. This left ten students who had experiencedboth the small school andth e large schoolin the graduating class of the large school in 1994. These ten students were eighteenor nineteenyears of age and the group consisted of eight males and twofemales. Theyall resided in th e small community where they had attendedthe small school.
This group was selected becausetheyhad th e experience of both types of school, and sufficient experiencein the high school to be able to reflectontheir schooling and draw conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of each. It was felt that theywere far enough removed from any
"honeymoon effect"of attending a new and larger school to give a more rel ia b l e perceptionthan thosewh owe r e in their first year in the highschool,andhad su fficient high school expe r i e n c e to have formed strongopinions. Theirperceptions .,)f the first ye a r of their highschool ex periencewere
30 particularly fo c us e d on. They werealsoableto provide informationonproblemsof busingwhichthey had perceived .
Th e SJll411sc1::tool
The small school in this st udyis locate d ina small Newfoundla nd communit y witha popu lation of ap proxi mat elyon e thousandtwohund r ed. rrhisis a rura l communitywith its economyprimarilybasedon the for e s t industry . Inrece nt years many peoplehave been working in large r surrounding communities. The co mmu n ityis loca tedon a sma l l ba y and people live oneach sideof the bay. Students who liveon thesi d e op posi te where th e sch oo l s are locatedare bus e d to scho ol . It has two schoo l s of approx imately th e same size, and which offer very similarprograms. The othe r school in the communitywas an allgr a de school un t il the 1992 -1 993 sc h o o l year, wheni t wasreduc e d toa ki ndergartentograde nin esc h ool . The sch oolbeingstudied ha s a student population of approximatelyonehundred stude nt s in grades kindergart en to ni n e. It has eight teachers , including a teaching principal, ahalf timecl a s s roo m/ ha lf ti mefrench te a c h e r, a halftime physical educat i on / half ti me classro om teacher, a special education te a c h er, and four classroo m teachers. This sch oo l alsohas theservic e s ofa guidance counsellorfor one half day persix daycyc l e . Multi-grade classrooms are the standard in this scho ol. Th e usual configurat ionofcla s s e s in the sch o olis kindergarten,
31 grades one and two, grades three and four, grades five and six, grades seve nand eight, and grade nine. This school had a music programwhi c hwa s terminated whi le the students being studiedwe r e attending junior high school, so theydid have thebe n e f i t of music cf aeeee during their prim aryand elementary years. Thisschool'sfa c i li t i e s include a small gymnasiurr., a multi-purposeroom, which serves as a libra ry. a computer room, and a music room, and a room which serves as a la b orato r y and art room.
After completing grade nine at the smallschool the students travelby bus. thirt ykilometreseach wa y , to the la r g e school. This journey takes thirty to forty-five minutes, depending on the weather conditions. This requires the students to get up at seven 0' clock in the morning fo r a seven forty-five pickup. Theyarrivehorne at approxima tel y threefo r t y~f iv ein the afternoon.
The largeschool
The large schoolin this studyis a junior to senior high school,wh i c h has a student popUlation of app roximatel y three hund redandfifty in grades seven to leve l thre e . This school is located in a smal lurbancentrewhichhas a populationof approximately five th ou s a nd . Th i s community is a service centre for its surrounding communitiesand its economicbase is tiedto the shippingind u s t r y. The large schoo l has been serving this community andits sur rounding
32 are a fo r the pa s t thirtythreeyears. Incl ude d in its populationare studentsfrom sixsITI411communities witha combinedpopu lationof appr oxima t e l y five thousand. These communities are economically base d onfarming, forestry,and fishing. Manype op l e fromthese communit iesdriv e to workin the larg e r communitywher e the sc hool isloca t ed.
The larg e schoolhas twent yse ve n teachers, incl ud ing: a prin c ipal ; a teachingvice - p rincipal; twophysicaledu cat i on te a c he r s ; a mus i c teacher;twofrench teac hers; a gui da nce cou ns e l l o rI two spec i a l educ a t i o nteache rs lon eteacher for thetrainablementa l l y ha ndicapped ; a librarian;a home economi csteacher; a te chno logyeduc at i on teacher; and thi r t e enclassroomandsubj e c t te a chers. It s or ga ni za t ion consis t s of single-grade classrooms in the junior high sectio n, withtwo or three classesper grade level ,and singl e coursecla s s rooms atthe highsc hoolle vel. Its fa c i litie s includea largegymnasium, a fren ch room,a music room.a guidance centre, an art room, threela borat o r i e s,a comput e r room,ahome economics room, atechno l ogy educ ation roo m,and a li brary. It of f e r s awi d era nge of courses to highschool student s , withsixtyni neoffe r edin the 1993-94 schoolyear.
The large schoolis also fed by a primary through elementary schoolwitha population of app rox i ma t e l y thr ee hun d redand fif t ystude n ts,whichislocated in the smal l urban centre and serves thesameco mmuni t i esasthe la r ge
33 sc hool, except the communitywh e r e the smal l schoo l being studiedis lo c a t e d . It has a teaching staff of twenty thre e , including: aprincipal;a vice-principal; a fr e n c h teacher; a phy s i c a l educationteacher; a music teacher; twospecial educat ionteachers; a teacher for thetra i n a ble mentally handi capped; a teacher for students with severe multiple handicaps; a learningres ou r c e s ceecberr a part time guidance counsel lor; and thirteen classroomteachers. It also hasthe services of four teacher assistants. This school's organization has either twoor three single-grade classes for each grade level. Its facilities include a large gymnasium.
a french room, a library, a multi-purposeroom, a laboratory, a music room, and a computerroom.
The high school students from th e small school being studied are added to the large school populationfor the ir high school education. This is aun i q u e situat ionfor this study, in that it provides an opportunityto studystudents who haveattended bothtypes of school and have had an opportunity to shareclasses wi t h students from a different type of background than themselves, so theyhave a basisfor comparison.
DoIIIta collectlon
Af terobtainingschool boardand school permi ssion todo thisstudy, parentswere contactedby mail and telephone.
The purpose of the studywas explainedto them an dtheir
34 permiss ionwas soug httoinclud e thei r childre n
in
it. Upon receipt of thepare nt s ' permiss i on the studentswe r e cone acte d by letter and tel ephone and askedtoparticipate.All ten stud e ntscon s ented and interviewappoin tme ntswe re se t up. Each stude n t was as ke d to meet the in te rv iewe r at a time and pl a c e convenient for him/her . For conve ni encemost of the intervie wswere condu c t e d inthe smal l school, wh i ch is locatedIntheir homecommuni t y .
Semi-structured in d i v i d ual interv i ewswith each stude nt we r e usedto explorehis /herpercepti on s of his/her school experiences. Ques t i o ns were posedbytheinte rvi e we r to initiate discussionand maintain thefoc u s of et-ein terview, but ecude nte wereencouraged to tal kfre e lyabout their experiences in thescho o l sy stem. The questionsasked were struc tu r ed , but providedopen ended opportuniti es fo r stud en t s to mention anyperceptio ns wh i ch they had on the sc hoolingprocess they ha dexperien c ed.
Student s were asked the irperce pt i o ns on thre e ma j o r ar e aa of school life:so cia lpa rticipation,acad emic achievement ;and post -secondaryaspirat i o ns. Th e interviews were alsoor gan i z e dinto students ' me mor i es oflif e inthe smal lschool, the ir impressionsand perceptionsof their first year inth e largeech...QI, and a i-e fIe c cIc n on their whole school experienc e" Each interviewtook the form of a friendlydiscu os i onof the stud en t' s schoo l experienc e s and his /herpe rcep t i ons ofthetr a ns i t ion fr o m thesma ll sch oo l
35 to thelarge school, and las t e d for one to one and onehalf ho u r s. Al l interviewswe r eau d i o taped.
DataAnalys 1s
Af t e r completion of the interviews theau d i o tapeswere transcribed. Interviewda t a on students' memories of life in the small school;anticipationsof life in thela r g e school;
first impressions of the large school; socialization in the large school; participation in extra-curricular activities;
perceptions of travelling on the bus; and reflections on their wh o l e schoolexperiencewere reported in narrati ve form. Anyperceived differences and negativeand positive perceptions of the transition from a small school to a large school. inte r ms of social and academic preparedness for high school, social involvement, and academicachievement, we re given particularattention. The transcrib ed interviewswere analyzed and commonthemes, issues, and concerns of the ten parti cipants we r e noted. In addition, individual issuesand concerns unique to individual studentswere noted.
conclus 1on
Beforeproceedingwith a study it is import anttobe familiarwith work which has beendone in tha t field, or closely related fields, by other researchers. No studies have been done in the field of studentperceptionsof the transitionfrom smallsc hools to largeschool s , bu t there
"
hav e beenmanydo n e inthe field of smal lschool s. The next chapter willexpl oresomeof thesmal l schools researc h, and id e a s whichhave beenwrit.tenaboutsmall schools.
37 Chapter 3 ~ Review of literature
Introd u cti on
Th epur poseof this chapt eris to investigate studies and wr i t ings whi c h have focus e d onissuesrelatingto small schools . No studies hav e been foundwhich focus on the tr a n sit i o n from a small school toa largo:! school, from the students' perspec tive. However, manystudieshave been done on the strengthsandwe ak ne s se s of small schools, and they have a directbearingon the sUbjectof this study. Since
multi~gradeclassroomsare the most pervasivefeatureof small schools inNew f o u nd l a n d and Labrador (Mulcahy,1993).
studieson th a t classroomorganization alsobear directlyon thisstudy.
Sma l l school s
Dueto smallnumbers of students in small, rura l communit.ies inNewf ou ndlan d and Labrador i twas common in the past.to find child r en of many differe nt age s , repre s e n t i n g differentgradelevels , in the same classroom, wi t h one teacher. In thela te1% 0 ' s emaI l scho o l s wi thmulti~grade
cl a s s r o o ms were vi ewe dunf a v o u r ab ly fro maneducational and ec o n o mic vi e wpoint, and alargescal e atte mpt to eliminate the mwa s begun (Doody , 1990). Due to the de mogra p h i c sof th i s province it is practicallyimpossibleto consolidat e ma ny suchscho o l s , so ala rge numberremai ninexis t e n c e. In
38 the 1992- 1993school yea r therewa s one hu n d r ed and seven t y eightsmall schools in thisprovince (Governmentof Newfound l a nd and Labrador, 1993). That numbe r represented over onethi r dof the schools in the province. wi t h the existence of such a la rgenumber of small schoolsit is necessary tora i s e questionsabout their effectivenessand thequalityof services being offeredto students who attend them.
Horn (1991) studied small schools in rural areasof Kansas. He determined school effectiveness by student's scores on standardized achievementte e t s , attainmentof college scholarships, percentageof students attending post- secondaryeducationalinstitutions, and paztLcdpatLo n in extra-curricularactivities. In hisdefinition of achievementhe also includeddevelopment of higher-order thinki ng skills , socialization, development of good work ethics , and preparation of studentsfor good citizenship. He found that in smallschools inKa ns a s : students participa ted wi d ely in extra-curriculars ; over seventypercent of students intendedto pursuepost-secondaryeducation; over seventy pe r c e n t of students reported receiving grades of A or B, wi t h only 1.4 % ge t t i ng 0 or F; over eightype r c e n t of adult respond e n tsbelieved extra-curricu l a r activities to be impo rtant ; all groups ques tionedper cei vedthatquality indic ato r s we r e pre s entin th e i r schools; and that those schoolshad a very lowdrop-out rate. Questionnaires were
39 circulatedto high school and juniorhig hschaol acudent-s, teachers, buildingadministrators, di s t r ic t superintendents, school board members, and adultcommunity members. He concludedbystating that "students in small/rural schools performed above the state average on all areas of the Kansas competency test, and students pursue post-secondaryeducation at a rate higher than the average for the state" (p. 25). He also stated that there is no evidence to indicate that those schools are doing an inferior job, and evidence points out that they are doing a much betterjobtha n average.
Dunne (1977) stated that a small school is much easier to administer than a larger school. It is also much easier for th e entire community to get involved with the operation of the school. Renihan and Renihan (1991)also pointed out the ease with which the community can get involved with smaller schools. Beckner and O'Neal (19flO) contended that small schools have:closer relations between faculty and administration; le s s xed tape; more participationin decision making by teachers and students; easier change processes;
closer parent-teacherrelations; and more parental involvement in the school. Levin and Marshall (1985 ) also stated that smaller schools have higher morale, and students in multi-gradeclassrooms show better adjustment and attitudes. Beckner and O'Neal (1980) contended that small schools have more sense of community, closer z e Lat.LcnahLpa between studentsand teachers, greater student partic ipation
40 in extra-curricu lars. Le a a disciplineproblems, and more humancontact . Sherand TOI,lpkins (1977 ) statedthatsmall schoolsprovide such advantages as, "localco n t r ol ; cl o s e relations among professionals,parents, students,and community; and the opportuni tyfor many morestudents to participatein school activitiesat a moremeaningful level"
(p. 57). Brimm and Hanson (19 80) agreed wi ththat listof advantages of the small school. It seemsrea s o na bl etha t thos econdi tion s woul d exist in small schools, with smaller numbersof teachers and students. Closer relationshipsand ease of communications should facilitatea closer, more familyatmosphere. Such an atmosphereshouldbe good for the overall development of etuden ca.
Educators have also pointedout th a t small school s have many weaknesses. Of the weaknessesmost commonlyname d bureaucra ticproblems, such as classarrangementsand timetabling, are probably the most eas i l y seen at first glance. Levin.an d Marshall (198 5 ) pointedou t that small schools do not haveas ma ny facili tiesas la r g e schools.
Beckner and O'Neal (1980)contende d that small schools cost more to operate per stude nt;have moreli mi t e d curriculum offerings; have difficulties in acquiringand maintaining qualifiedstaff; experiencea negative attitude towards the multi-grade organization; and providelimitedsocial oppor tunityto contactpeopleof differentbackgrounds . Brimm and Ha ns o n (1980) ad de d tha t small schoolsofte ncopy
41 large school practices, whi c h leads to an inferior program.
Cross,Leahy, and Murphy (1 9 69) contended that teachers in small BCrDOls have a heavier workload tha n te a c he r s inla r ge r schools. Dunne (1 977 ) stated that lack of teacher training for small ecbcor s was a problem. She we n t on to say that small schools do have problems,but it is better to live wit h the m than to live with a whol enew set crea tedby tra n s p l a n t i n g to a suburbanmode l.
Since multi-grade classroomsare a major feature of small school s (Mul c a hy , 1993 ,and Ga lton& Pat rick, 1990) it is importantto examine studies that have been done on that classroom or gani za tio n .
Multi -gradeclassrooms
Gajadharsingh (19 9 1) defined a multi-grade classroom as one where two or more> gradelev e l s hav e been combined in one classroo mwith one t eacbe x . Mulc:ahy (1 9 9 3 ) concurred with that definition when definingmulti - g r a d e c;raaroomsin Newfoundlandand Laorador . In suchan arrangement itwa s most common for students in a particulargrade to be seated together , but separatedfr om other grades. Each grade group wa s taught separately, ac c o r d ing to theirgrade le v e l (Do o dy, 1990). She also stated that an attempt to cover allmandated cu r r i c ul u m fo reach grade level was generall ymade. Mulcahy
(1 9 9 3) contended that there has been ala c k of acknowledgementthatmulti -gr ad eclassroom s exis t, an d
42 curriculum is being plannedfor single-grade situations . Gajadhars ingh(1991) also made thatpo i nt when he statedtha t no curr iculummaterialsexist specif ical lyfor multi-grade classrooms,so the regular single -gradecu rr iculum isusually fol lowed. He alsostatedthat thisis sobecause integrating cur-z-tou faand teachingstrategie£: for mUlti-grade classrooms aremajor problemsfor teachers. Thispresents a special problem since, he stated. morethan eighty percent of mu lti- grade teacher s have nospecialtraining in teaching multi - gradeclasses. He alsostatedtha t parents and teachers have ne g a t i v eat t i t u de s towardsmulti-gradeclassrooms, with teachersfeelingthat it placesa heavy burden on them and prov i de s students withaninferioreducation. ve enmen, Voeten,andLe m(198 7) found that parents feltthat studen ts in mixed-agecl a s s e s wou ldnot achieveas well,academically, as studentsin single-gradeclasses. Such strong feelingson the part ofce e c ne e e andparents demandresearch to see if it has foundation in reality.
It seemstha t whetherthe mUlti-gradeclassroomis inferioror not th e i r existence will continue in this province. NewfoundlandandLa bra do r remains a predominantly rural province withwide l yscat te r e d smallcommunities.
Adding to that.our denomi nationaleducationsystem demands that many small communitieshave more than one sch oolto serve the religiousdenominationsseparately. :::::omp o undi ng that further is amar ke d decreasein the numbersof chi ldren
43 enroll ed in our schoolsinre c en t.year s. Such fa ctor s ha ve led twe n ty - s i x of twe nty -sevenschool bo a rd s inthi spr ov inc e tofo r e s e e an expansion in the number of mult i-grade clas sroomsin their districtsinthe near future(Mulcahy, 1993). Gajadharsingh (1991), in a stu d yof multi-g rade classroomsin Can ada, contendedthat it is apparentthat small schools and mUltiMgradecl a s sroo ms are here to st ay. If they are here tostayi tis imperative that. we inc rease ou r knowledgeof the quality of education that we are providingto the studentsaffected. Studyof the multi-grade cl ass room can alsog1ve us insightsintohowto improve them, andmay leadus to improved educational organizations fo r all of our schooling.
Ach ie vementinmulti-gradeclasses
It is of prime importance to inve st i ga t e Gajadha rs ingh's (1991) findingthatpa rents , stud en ts , teachers,an d ad mi n i s tra t o r svi e w mUl t.i-gradeclassroomsas an in f e r i o r organizationproviding students withasue- standard education. Ifthatis t.he case studies should showthat students in multi-gradeclassrooms achieveata much lower rate tha n stude n tsinsingle-grad e classrooms. Many studies have been donein this are a, using performance on
standardized testsof basic academic skills as indicators, as well as looking atthe broader range of studentachievement outcomes define dearlie r.
44 Li ncoln (19 8 1) used a standard hedtes t of rea d ing ab i l i t yto compa re re adi ngac h i e ve me nt of stud ents who spent the i r firstand se co nd years insc h oo l insingl e-gr ade clas s e s with that of thosewh ospent thei r firs t two years in multi -g rad e classes. It wa s found thatte s t score s di d not varysigni fica n t l y ,and it was concluded tha t th e multi-grade class roo misaviablealte rna tive to the single-grade clas s r oom, andwillno t hinder stude nt ac hieveme nt. Rule
(1;18 3),usi ng sta ndard ize d tests of readi ng and mathemat ic s skills ,determinedthat the multi-gradeclas sroomdoes not have a negat i ve ef fect on read ingach i ev e ment, but mi gh tha v e a lleg a t ive ef f e ct onma t he mati cs ac h i e ve me n t .
Yer ry and He nd erson (19 64) compared multi- grade and single-gr a d eclasses on academicachievement,social ad~ustme n t , and anxiet y level s . Theyused standardi zedtests of readi ng, arith met i c , and en gli sh,as well as sta n da rdized socia l acc eptanceand anxietyscales. Th e y foundth a t there was a slight, but not statis t icallysignificant. ga i n in acad emicachievement, in favourofthe mul ti -g radeclass.
They reported that students inmul t i -g radeclass e s are certa inl y no t hampe red in academi c ac hie v e ment . No significant differe nce was foundin .,oelal accep t anc e patterns, and no signi f i c a nt difference wasfoundin school anxiety levels. However , the y did repo r t les s.defensivene s s in studen ts fromthe sin gle- g ra de cla es r o om. They also repor t ed info rma l ly th a t students inthe mult i-grade clas s
45 se emed more satisfiedwith school, hadmore breath and richness of experience. were more helpful to others, and seemed touse time more profitably.
Cooper and Engel (1971) reportedtha t there were significant differences in standardizedtests of readingand language, with the exceptionof spelling, in favour of non- graded schools. Macdonaldand Wurster (1 9 7 4), in a study of achievement of primaryschool students, defined achievement as mean gains on a standardizedvocabulary and reading comprehensiontest. ta ke n fromstudents'accumulated records.
They foundthattherewas no significantdifference in vo cab u l ary skills or readingcomprehension skill sof aecoad graders who had spent their first year in a single-grade classroomandtho s e of students who had spenttheir first year in a multi-gradeclassroom. hfter a review of literature on achievementin multi-grade classrooms, as opposed to single-grade classrooms, Gajadharsinghand Me l v i n
(1987) concludedthat students in multi-gradeclassrooms either exceededor were the same as students in single-grade classrooms, in areas of scholastic achievement. From their reviewof litera turethey also repoz-ted that students in multi-grade classrooms tend to do better than students in single-grade classrooms in measures of affective development "
In their study of elementary children,in which they compared student performance on the Canadian Test of Basic Skills, th eyfo undth a t achievementof students in multi-grade
46 classroomswassignificantly higherthan thatof studen tsin single-grade cl as s r o oms , in vocabulary,reading, math concepts,math problem solving, andmathtotal. Penney
(1992) found that there was no significant differencein ac h i eve ment on the CanadianTest of BasicSkills, between grade six students in mUlti-gradeclassrooms and those in single-grade classrooms.
Acheson (1964) reportedthatstudents in mUlti-grade classroomsconsistently achievedequally or superiorly to studentsin single-grade classrooms (cited in Brown&:Martin, 19 8 9). Finleyand Thompson(1 9 6 3) found no significant difference betweenachievementof students in multi-grade classes, as comparedtostudentsin single-gradeclasses
(citedin BrOW:l&Martin, 19851). Brown and Ma rtin (l5l89)did a study in whichtheylooke d at grade points, the canadian Test of Bas i c Skills, and a teacher survey to compare achievementof students in multi-gradeand single-grade classes. The y found a slight , but not stat.ist1cal ly significant, difference in favour of t.he multi-grade class.
They concludedbystating that they foundno evidenceto suggest that stude ntsin mu lt i-g r ade classes should not do as we l l as students in single-gradeclasses.
OOdendorf (19 8 3)statedth atthere wasno differencein academic performance of students in a five grademu lti- g r ade classroomand students in a single -gradesituation (ci t e d in Miller, 1991 ). Galton andPat r i ck (1990) fo u nd no
47 discernable trend in differencesbetweenachievement in multi-grade and single -gradeclasses. wilt (1 9 7 ~ ) reported th a t when samples are matchedfo r I.O ,and chronologicalage multi - a g e and single-agegroupinghad no effectonacademic achievement (citedin Faust, 1991) . Bowman (197 9 ) fou n dno significant difference in self-c onceptand attitudein students fromgradedand non-graded schools. He alsofound that in elementary school there wasno significantdifference in achievement, but inju n i o r highsc hool t::.here was, in favour ofnon-gradedclasses(c i t ed inFaust, 1991) .
Chace 0.961)studiedacademic achievement as well as personality and 90cial developmentin students in multi-grade and single-gradeclasses. He used standardized tests of academic achievement and questionnaires to parents, teachers, and school administrators to do so. He found a slight, but not statisticallysignificant. advantagein favour of the multi-gradeorgani.zation for academic achievement, and a slightly signi fi cant advantagein persona lityand social development, in favour of the multi -gradesituation. Miller
(1991), after areview of thirteenstudies, concludedthat the mUlti-gradeclassroom does not affectacademlc performance. social relationships,or attitudes, and that measures of affectivedevelopmentshow strongly infavou r of themUlti-gradeorganization . Heconcluded by stating that the multi-gradeclassroomis a viable, and equally effective, organizationa l alternative to single-gradeinstruction.
48 Ford (1977) reported that childrenin multi ·age groups have a betterattitude toward school. Shefur therconten ded tha t stude ntsinmulti-agegroups seem to have better sel f- concept, aspirations, feelings of success,and perceptio nsof parentalapproval than cont r olgroups. Hull (1 958) claimed that more learningtakes placein themulti·g radeclass than in the sing le-gradeclass. He also stated that students in mul ti-gr a d e cla ssesshowgai nsin personaladjustment,eocaet mat urity, and behaviou r characte ristics (ci t e d in Buchinger, 1988 ). Ma rtinand Pavan(1 9 7 6 ), ina review of literature.
foundthat whenstuden tsare matchedfor I,O. those in non- graded classes scored signif icant lyhigher on standardized tests of achievementtha n student s in si ngle-gradeclasses. They concludedthat "no n-gra d e d programscan enhance acade mic achievementand fos t er posi t i v e at t i tudesamong child r en" (p . 312).
Veenma net at .(J.9B7), in a studyoftime ontask and achie vementin mul t i-a geas oppos e d to "'ingle-age cl a s s r oo ms, pre-tested studentswith a standardize...:achievement te s t and placedthem in abili tygroups. Th e ythe n observed themfor time on taskandcompared the ir achievementin a post-testof the standa rdized test . They concludedthat the type of class org a n izat ionis not associa t e dwith student achievement . Studentsinmixed-age classes did nothave sig nificantlyle s s time on task thanstudents in sing le·ageclasses,and there
"
wae no significant difference in achievement on the standardized test.
There have been studies whichfoundthat single -grade classes achieve at a higher rate than multi-grade classes.
stimson (1992)found that in mu!ti-track, year round schools students learn more in single-grade classrooms than in multi- grade. as measured by standardized tests of reading.
mathematics, and language, regardless of sex, ethnicity, socio-economicstatus, or previous achievement, I"oshay (1948) found that students in single-grade classes made significantlygreater gains in reading, arithmetic, and language than students inmUlti~gradeclassrooms(cited in Gajadharsingh&Melvin, 1987). Fippinger (1967) also found a significant difference in academic achievement in favour of the single-grade classroom (cited in Veenman et al., 1987).
Even though there is no clear indication of one classroom organization being superior in student achievement, i tseems that the weight of the evidence points to the conclusion that the mUlti-grade classroom is not detrimental to student achievement. While some studies indicate that i t might be superior there are others that indicate there is no difference, and a few which indicate they may be inferior.
I tseems from the studies which have been done that students in small schools with mUlti-gradeclassrooms are not at a disadvantage compared with students in larger schools with single-gradeclassrooms. Educators have been arguing the
50 adv antages and disadvan tage s ofeach classroom organi zation, and an examinationof theirargumentsmight alsohelpto shed some li gh t on this question.
Adv8n t age lJalldd.tsad v8 ntagelJ of t:bemult i - gradeclassroom A number of advantages of multi-gr a d e classrooms have been identifiedby educatIonaLresearchers. Thosead vantages can be characterized as bureaucrat icefficiency, provisionof a broadra n g e of experiences, more flexib ility . and better attit udes andself-c onceptin students.
Hu ll (19 58) claimedthat students in multi-grade classes are stimulatedto higher achievementby thewid e range of experi e nce s and interests thatare foundin their classroom (citedin Bu c hi n g e r, 1988 ). Le i gh t and Rinehart (1992) stated that there is more of a fami lyfeelingin a mul t i- gradeclassroom. Tait (1992) summed up those ideasby listi ngthe advantagesof the mul t i - g r ade classroom as: it providesa wi de range of skills,strengths, and exper iences, which enrich all; older students motivateyounger students to do be tter wo r k ; and good behaviourand workha b i t s are modelledby the morematurestudents. It could alsobe argued that youngerstudents could learn much from overhearingexplanationsgiven to older studentsby the teacher .
I thas also been argued thatthe multi-grade classroom ismo re flexiblethan the single-g radeclassroom. Bishop
51 (1982 ) arguedthatmulti-gradegroupingoffers more flexi b i li tyto have students wcrjcat theirabil itylevel wi t hin the classroom. Cohen (1990) agreed,naming flexibility in grouping as an advantageof the mul ti- grade classroom. Beckner and O'Neal (1980) concurred, listing advantages of multi-gradeclassrooms as: a more learner- centr e d atmosphere; morepotential for individualized instruction; and less abilitygrouping. Also, Leight and Rinehart (1 9 92) contendedthat the multi-gradeclassroom provides an opportunity for gifted studentstoac ce l e ra t e within their classroom. Arelaxedat mosp h e r e wherestudents can workat their level of comfortand competenceshould enhance learning. I tshould also be notedthat a decrease in labellingof students should be a result of this type of classroomorganization. Obe rlander (1989) stated that the multi-grade class provides a developmentally appropriate env i r o nment for students wit ho u t reject i on or separationfrom peers.
Anumber of studieshave re por te d bette r att i t ude s and self-concept in studentsfrom multi-gradeclassrooms. Cohen (1990) stated tha t the multi-gradeclass room tendsto down- pl ay competitionbetween studentsand overlyacademic instruction, which promotebett erattitudes andpeer relations. Mycock (1967) contendedthat students in multi- age classrooms have a greatersenseof be longi ng , support, se curi t y, and confidence thanstudentsin single-age
S2 classrooms (cited inFord, 1977). Ford (1 9 77 ) asserted that students in multi-age classeshave more positive eet r-concept;
and sel f -esteem,lengthened teacher-student relationships, like school better, and have better attitudes toward work.
Leight and Rinehart (1992) claimed that there is more of a family feeling and cooperative atmosphere in a multi-grade cl a s s r o o m than in a aingle -gradeclassroom. It isdif f i c ult forlar g e schools to providesuch a close atmosphere. Craig and McClellan (l998) statedthat when organized for pedagogical reasons. whichare clearlyunde r s t ood , the mul ti- gradeclassroomcan be a blessing in disguise.
Thereare also those who point outtha t themulti-grade classroomhas weaknesses. The three majo rweaknesses of the mul t i -gradeclassroom which have been identi fiedare: i t is more demanding of teachersthan single-gradeclassrooms;
curriculum has not been developed.nor teachers trained for mUl t i -gradeclassrooms;and bureaucratic problems associated with small schools. Buchinger (1988) statedtha t where the mUlti-gradesituation means higher numbers of students in the classroom the teacher has le s s time to spend with
individua ls.
Veenman et al. (1987 ) reportedthat teaching in a mixed- age class is very demanding, and teachers in such classes report lesssatisfactionwith theirjob. Miller (1 9 91) echoedtheirfinding,stating tt:ta t a mUlti-gradeclassroom demands mo re time of the teacher and is more complexthan
53 teaching ina aingle- grade classroom. Itshouldbe note d that.ahe avie r work loadca ncontr i buteto the negative feel ings to war d mul t i-grade cteeexcceenoted earli e r. Smal l schools withmulti-gradecl a ssroomsgenerally do not allow teachers th e luxury of pre par ation time during the sc hoo l day. The teacherisoftenwi t hhis/her students every minute of the scho ol day. Thi s pl a c e s a he avy burden on t.h e teacher . especia lly since planni n g andpr epara tion mus t alwaysbe doneoutsideof the regularworki ng day .
Amajor prob l emwiththe multi -g ra d eclassroom is the lack of recognit i on of it s existence . Itseems that curri c ul umplan ni ngandte a c he r trai ning goon with no re cognit ion of theexistenceof thi s typeof clas sroo m organ i z a t io n. Cohen (1990 ) sta ted that the r e isa lac k of cur ricu l umma t erials , andteachers are notprepare d toteac h in mUlti ·g r ade cl a s s e s, aince they have been tra ine d for single·gra d ecl asses . Inmany mul t i -grade cl a s s rooms tea c h e rs try to teach the regularsingle·gradedcur ricu lum, whi c h the y have beentrai nedtodeli ver . Craig and Mc Cl ellan (19 B7 )con te nded that i tis aprac ticallyimposs ibl e tas k for ateacherto meet the expec t a tionsof twocurricul a at the earne time. Theyalsostatedthat thepre e ent curriculumis difficultto comb i nein manyca s es. Theysuggest ed that even where schoolsat tempt torotate curri culaseriousproblems arisefrom thechanging na t u r eof theclas s r oo m si t u at i o ns from year toye a r. Ch ace (1 961) stated tha t suc c ess is
