Reassessing 'Ability' Grouping: Improving Practice for Equity and Attainment

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Routledge, Jul 23, 2019 - Education - 190 pages

Presenting original quantitative and qualitative data from a large-scale empirical research project conducted in British secondary schools, Reassessing ‘Ability’ Grouping analyses the impact of attainment grouping on pupil outcomes, teacher effectiveness and social equality.

Alongside a comprehensive account of existing literature and the international field, this book offers:

  • Rigorous conceptual analysis of data
  • A view of wider political debates on pupils' social backgrounds and educational attainment
  • A discussion of the practicalities of classroom practice
  • Recommendations for improved practice to maximise pupil outcomes, experiences and equity
  • Vignettes, illustrative tables and graphs, as well as quotes from teacher interviews and pupil focus groups

Addressing attainment grouping as an obstacle to raising pupil attainment, this book offers a distinctive, wide-ranging appraisal of the international field, new large-scale empirical evidence, and ‘close to practice’ attention to the practicalities and constraints of the classroom. Reassessing ‘Ability’ Grouping is an essential read for any practitioners and policymakers, as well as students engaged in the field of education and social justice.

From inside the book

Contents

Introduction
1
Ability grouping what is it and why do we do it?
8
The Best Practice in Grouping Students study Explaining our methods
32
The impact of attainment grouping on pupil outcomes Attainment and selfconfidence
51
Pupils experiences of different grouping practices
71
The impact of attainment grouping on pedagogy and practice
96
Why is good practice in setting so difficult to achieve?
115
Doing mixed attainment grouping well
134
Reflections
156
Recommendations
165
Index
175
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About the author (2019)

Becky Francis is Director of the UCL Institute of Education, UK.

Becky Taylor is Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research, UCL Institute of Education, UK.

Antonina Tereshchenko is Research Fellow in the Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research, UCL Institute of Education, UK.

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