Primary pupils' experiences of different types of grouping in school

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Pupil grouping and organisation of classes

What was the aim and the design of this study?

The researchers aimed to explore primary-aged pupils’ experiences of different forms of grouping within and between classes including:

their perceptions of the purpose of these groupings;
how they felt they should be grouped;
whether these groupings had adverse social implications;
whether the grouping had an impact on their own perceptions of their ability; and
whether these groupings affected their attitudes to school.

This study did not investigate the effects of ability grouping on pupils’ performance.

The research was undertaken:

in six primary schools with different grouping practices (ranging from high levels of ability grouping, to no structured ability grouping). The schools were separated by geographical location, size, and demographics;
by interviewing three mixed gender pairs of pupils from each Key Stage 2 year group in every school. In each case the three pairs represented above-average, average and below average ability. In total 134 pupils were interviewed.

These pupils were questioned on:

their attitudes to school;
how they were grouped;
why they thought they were grouped this way;
whether the groups did different work;
what they saw as the advantages and disadvantages of the grouping structure;
whether they were happy in their groups;
whether they would like to change groups, and why;
how they would set up groups if they had the opportunity;
whether they were teased for being in a particular group;
what group they thought they would be in if the teacher allocated them to one of three groups: top, middle and bottom.

Data were categorised and then evaluated using the NUD*IST 4 software package to establish percentages.

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction The benefits and disadvantages of grouping by ability What the study found What was the aim and the design of this study? What are the implications of the study? Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To view/remove/add notes and save your collated digests click here Get Word Reader Primary pupils' experiences of different types of grouping in school This digest found in Pupil grouping and organisation of classes Send to a friend Word doc 80KB Printer friendly Collate for later What was the aim and the design of this study? The researchers aimed to explore primary-aged pupils’ experiences of different forms of grouping within and between classes including: their perceptions of the purpose of these groupings; how they felt they should be grouped; whether these groupings had adverse social implications; whether the grouping had an impact on their own perceptions of their ability; and whether these groupings affected their attitudes to school. This study did not investigate the effects of ability grouping on pupils’ performance. The research was undertaken: in six primary schools with different grouping practices (ranging from high levels of ability grouping, to no structured ability grouping). The schools were separated by geographical location, size, and demographics; by interviewing three mixed gender pairs of pupils from each Key Stage 2 year group in every school. In each case the three pairs represented above-average, average and below average ability. In total 134 pupils were interviewed. These pupils were questioned on: their attitudes to school; how they were grouped; why they thought they were grouped this way; whether the groups did different work; what they saw as the advantages and disadvantages of the grouping structure; whether they were happy in their groups; whether they would like to change groups, and why; how they would set up groups if they had the opportunity; whether they were teased for being in a particular group; what group they thought they would be in if the teacher allocated them to one of three groups: top, middle and bottom. Data were categorised and then evaluated using the NUD*IST 4 software package to establish percentages.