Beukes, F: The effects of Multi-grade Teaching on Learner Pe

Multi-grade classes were created in Namibia to give children living in isolated areas access to a school located in or near a village and to obtain higher returns from the school system. Although authors generally agree that greater demands are placed on teachers in multi-grade classes, as opposed to mono-grade teaching, there was no agreement about whether this affected the quality of teaching. Most researchers and practitioners agree that successful strategies for multi-grade teaching depended on adequate provisioning of learning materials to support individual and group-based learning. Curriculum, learning materials, teacher education and assessment are necessary components of an integrated strategy for teaching and learning in multi-grade settings. Implementation of a single strategy is unlikely to lead to significant improvements in the effectiveness of teaching and learning in multi-grade settings. Surrounding these strategies is the need for national policies (for curriculum, materials, teacher education and assessment) that recognise, legitimatise and support learners and teachers in multi-grade settings.