Allocating students into separate classes within a school depending on their "ability" is common in many countries. This paper presents a theoretical discussion of the practice, considering why it persists despite a long history of research emphasizing consequential problems. Our discussion identifies and critiques four possible reasons…

The division of educational systems into different tracks--academic and vocational--represents one of the key elements in explaining social stratification and inequalities. Previous research identifies teachers' expectations as a critical factor to understand the relationship between tracking and social inequality. This paper discusses how ability…

This article discusses the pedagogic practice of ability grouping in government schools in Delhi. Despite practical evidence against homogenous student settings, ability grouping is implemented as a policy solution to reduce the huge variance in students' learning levels within a classroom. Research data is drawn from interviews with 110…

Inclusion is positioned at the forefront of global educational reform. The study reported focused on a national Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme for Inclusive Physical Education (IPE) in England. The research was designed to critically explore how CPD providers (i.e. tutors) variously conceptualised and practiced inclusion in…

Compliance to government-prescribed national 'school-readiness' performance measures, particularly in early numeracy and literacy, readies and governs early years children for primary schools' test-based culture. Performance measures, such as the Early Learning Goals and the Phonics Screening Check, govern and steer early years teachers towards…

Persistent inequities in mathematics teaching and learning for specific groups of learners are a key challenge for researchers and educators. The use of ability grouping has been common practice in New Zealand mathematics classrooms. However, many researchers (e.g. Boaler and Wiliam 2001; Zevenbergen in 2003) highlight the negative effects of…

This study examined the intentions of education policy documents and the conceptualizations of secondary school principals and teachers regarding curriculum differentiation. Regular and special day schools were selected using purposive sampling based on their experiences with different types of curriculum differentiation. Two school principals and…

Attainment grouping is a prevalent yet controversial practice, used in most English schools and on the rise internationally, despite evidence that it is detrimental to the majority of pupils. In England, no data is routinely recorded regarding these practices, and most research on student outcomes depends on a simplistic dichotomy between pupils…

Both in New Zealand and internationally, there has been a focus on the use of differentiation in mathematics instruction to raise achievement levels and provide equitable outcomes. New Zealand has a long history of the use of ability grouping to provide differentiation. Recently, this practice has been challenged in a large scale professional…

Grouping pupils by attainment is frequently practised in primary schools yet is associated with detrimental effects for middle- and lower-attaining children. Drawing on a mixed methods study, we find that attainment grouping practices at key stage 2 in primary schools are seldom straightforward. Although grouping by attainment appears to be the…

The micro-level enactment of educational policy has received little attention in the physical education [PE] literature, particularly as it relates to setting policy. This study employs enactment theory to provide original insights into the ways in which setting policy was enacted by PE teachers in three mixed-gender secondary schools in England.…

The aim of the research was to examine the implementation of various differentiation practices seen from teachers' and learners' perspectives. The paper reviews recent research studies related to the adjustments teachers make to content, process and product, according to the patterns in student readiness, interest or learning profile and provides…

This article uses data from a research project exploring grouping practices based on 'ability' in classrooms for children aged 3-7 years in England to consider the relationship between teachers' views of ability and their ways of organising children. The widespread use of grouping with young children and the concomitant 'fixed-ability thinking' by…

This paper analyses English Millennium Cohort Study data (N = 4463). It examines two respective predictors of children's maths self-concept at age 11: earlier in-class maths 'ability' group and earlier teacher judgements of children's maths 'ability/attainment' (both at age seven). It also investigates differential associations by maths cognitive…

There is a complementarity between Uganda's aim for 'education for all' and the pedagogy indicated as underpinning Uganda's child-focused thematic curriculum. However, child-focused pedagogies are rare. The case is made that child-led research is an appropriate model for developing inclusive classroom practice. This research is the first to…