The effectiveness of differentiated instruction by streaming: A preliminary study of current practices in the UAE

Abstract

Differentiated instruction is modifying teaching to suit one, small group, or all learners. There are two ways to classify students into differentiated classes. The first one is grouping students by mixed-ability schoolrooms, and the other is to split by streaming. This qualitative exploratory study explored the advantages and challenges of differentiated instruction by streaming in the UAE. The authors aim to search the benefits and disadvantages of streaming in the UAE context because the UAE applied splitting instead of mixed-ability classrooms. Twelve cycle two English teachers, and 20 cycle two EFL students, from four different schools, which are applying differentiated instruction by streaming, participated in a semi-structured interview to answer the questions of the study based on a convenience sampling. The study indicated that streaming helps all students’ proficiency levels. The above-average students benefit the most from streaming, and some profound benefits were suggested for the below-average students. The most apparent advantages were having equal opportunity for participation among all the three levels, having better achievement grades, and the increase of independent learning. However, the disadvantages suggested by the respondents were the use of native language, classroom interruption, having negative behavioral issues, and labeling the below-average as weak students.