Broader strokes: The curricular and pedagogical possibilities of multiage educational settings

Abstract

Multiage classrooms seem to be an idea of the past, as students in most schools across the country are grouped by age. However, research by Goldman (1981), Rhoades (1966), and Eisner (2003) argue that multiage grouping has significant social, behavioral, and intellectual advantages for students. Using educational criticism and connoisseurship as a methodology, this article examines the accounts of a professor who taught in a multiage school environment within the United States, as well as observations of a multiage school in the Masaka district of Uganda. This study aims to understand how curriculum and pedagogy interact within multiage system, as well as whether those interactions help or hinder students. Through interviews observations, and classroom artifacts, it was found as Perez, Breault, and White (2014) argue curriculum functions as a space, not only a given content trajectory. Additionally, it was found that in creating a space where community was encouraged, the school was able to move toward pedagogy of love.