Mixed Ability Teaching

Mixed ability teaching was the subject of a lively debate in the early 1980s within the teaching profession. Some educationalists took the view that mixed ability teaching was a great step forward which should be encouraged at all costs, whilst other strongly disagreed. Others whilst acknowledging that mixed ability teaching is a good idea, were against it, pointing to the many practical difficulties which face a teacher teaching to a mixed ability class.

Originally published in 1982, this book provides a comprehensive survey of the issues involved, offering a range of approaches to the issue of whether and how to group children for mixed ability teaching. The aim is to help students and teachers to look more dispassionately at the topic and, in the process, to explore their own reactions and attitudes. The book considers the methods that should be employed in mixed ability teaching, examining the different strategies that need to be adopted for different subjects, and explori