This case study examined the characteristics of classroom discourse during physics lessons in two single-sex high school classes--a boys' vs. a girls' class. All lessons were taught by the same teacher and covered the same topics. For each class, six lessons were recorded, transcribed, and coded and the characteristics of the discussion were…

In the field of educational effectiveness research, the influence of a class' student body on students' individual achievement scores has been a popular research interest for many years. Yet, few studies have focussed on the effects of class composition on students' non-achievement outcomes, and up to now, hardly any attempts have been made to…

This chapter examines the extent to which the composition of classes affects learning outcomes. The aim is to explore peer effects when students are organized into classes on the basis of ability, ethnicity, or gender, as well as the effects of multigrade and multi-age classes and class size. The argument is defended that these composition factors…