Children’s education suffers in mixed class, study finds

CHILDREN in mixed class groups are losing out educationally and socially because their teachers’ time and attention are so divided, research has found.

Almost 68,000 — or 38% — of the country’s 430,000 primary pupils are in a class which has a mix of at least two grades. But most teachers in a study of multi-grade classes reported in The Irish Journal of Education cited lack of sufficient time as a major problem working with such groups.

Catherine Mulryan-Kyne from St Patrick’s College in Dublin surveyed the staff of 73 two-teacher schools, where each teacher generally has four class groups and one is also the principal.