ELECTIVE – TEACHING MULTIGRADE CLASSES

Instructor: Michelle Ann Solis Malalis

Student’s Name: ____________________

CHAPTER 1: LESSON 1
HISTORY AND NATURE OF MULTIGRADE PROGRAM

A. History of Multigrade Classes

In the 1800s, one-room schools consisted of students of varied ages and abilities. Students learned
together as a single class. In fact, the first government schools in North America and Europe were multigrade
classes (Brunswic and Valerien, 2004, as cited in "Quality Indicators of Multigrade Instruction in Southeast
Asia", 2012). With the beginning of the industrial revolution and rapid urban population growth, the practice
of graded school system was started as a means to classify and organize the increasing number of students.
Since its emergence, it has simply become the norm (Miller, 1989) and has become the organizational unit of
the school. However, the multigrade classes have remained an essential school structure especially in remote
areas. UNESCO defined multigrade teaching as the teaching of classes of learners who are not only from
different grade levels, but are also from diverse age groups, cultures, and abilities. A multigrade class has two
or more grades under one teacher with 8 to 35 students. The socio-economic conditions in countries where
multigrade classes are found vary. Generally, the multigrade classes in industrialized countries have sufficient
resources as compared to developing nations where the communities are economically poor. Thus, multigrade
education is essential in these poor, rural, and remote locations as part of the effort to widen and improve
access to quality education for all. It is a cost-effective means of increasing student attendance and student
achievement. These classes exist for a wide variety of reasons:
1. Geographical Factors - Some areas are geographically isolated by rivers, sand dunes or thick forest.
As a result, few people live in these areas. The children in these areas deserve education just like any
other children. Therefore, under such conditions, multigrade teaching becomes the only available
choice for these communities. Sometimes these small communities are far away from large schools.
Many of the students in such communities are too young to travel to larger schools. In addition, their
populations are too small to support monograde schools. Under these circumstances, multigrade
teaching is an alternative. It makes it possible to provide basic education to sparsely populated
communities.
2. Political Factors - the majority of small multigrade schools are in remote and isolated areas and
sometimes close to the country boundaries. Though there might be a school close by across the border,
 the learners are not allowed to cross the border. Also, villages under different chiefs or associated with
different tribes, no matter how small, may not have a close relationship with each other. They may not
have the same political affiliation. As part of the local development effort, these leaders will push to
have schools in their areas regardless of the size of the population.
3. Cultural Factors - Think about what happens if the children of one community must attend a school
in another community. Parents may not want their children to attend a school in an area that has a
different culture. They may fear that their children will be influenced, and they will lose some of
their community’s values and traditions. This is frequently the case in communities that are near
towns and cities. Parents may also fear that their children may be attracted to the town and leave
home. Therefore, they would prefer to have a small school in their own village and maintain their
traditions and values.
4. Socio-Economic Factors - It is difficult to hire a teacher for each grade level when the
enrolment is lower than the government-stipulated teacher/pupil ratio. Few countries, if any, can
afford to pay a teacher to teach three or four students. Ministries of Education in most countries have
set a ratio of the number of learners to a teacher. For some countries, it might be 30 or 50 learners per
teacher. Another factor to consider is the lack of both human and material resources. Some countries
have limited resources, especially in remote rural schools. They do not have the resources to hire the
number of teachers needed for the system. Some rural schools do not have the basic amenities such
as accommodation for teachers, an adequate number of classrooms and teaching-learning materials.
As a result, many teachers do not want to work in the remote rural schools. This means that these
schools frequently experience a shortage of teachers.

B. Roles of a Multigrade Teacher

A multigrade teacher plays various roles as she/he performs the tasks in handling students with varied
age level, developmental stages and interests (Mathot, 2001). The roles of a multigrade teacher are uniquely
different from a monograde teacher. These common functions which multigrade teachers must carry out in
their schools are as follows:
1. As Teacher - The main function of the multigrade teacher is to teach students by imparting knowledge
not just follow a curriculum. Teacher must be able to develop skills and inculcate desirable values and
attitudes among pupils. The teacher is expected to be versatile and utilize different strategies to make
learning meaningful and effective for all students in his or her classroom, no matter what individual
differences may exist among the students.
2. As Facilitator - The teacher should be able to understand differences between pupils, be able to
motivate them to learn and guide them through their learning materials. The teacher should be able to
do this for all grade levels in the classroom, no matter what curriculum subject is being studied. The
teacher should not only be a provider of knowledge but should also be a facilitator of learning both at
a group level and on a one-to-one basis.
3. As a planner - Planning is a critical function for the Multigrade teacher. Appropriate planning by the
teacher will result in classes which are more productive for the learners and easier for them to follow.
Planning in the multigrade school classroom is much more important that in a monograde one. The
teaching hour must be spent productively for student groups in grades of the class and thus accuracy
on time spending is crucial.
4. As Evaluator - Another role which the multigrade teacher must carry out is to monitor the progress
of pupil's learning to ensure quality of education. Therefore, assessment should be considering a
continuous and integral part of the teaching process. Usually, this requires teachers to determine the
educational levels of pupils when they first enter schooling, during the school year and at the end of
 each school year. Therefore, assessment should be considered a continuous and integral part of the
teaching process.
5. As Materials Designer - Although various curriculum materials are usually prepared by national
educational authorities, multigrade teachers still need to develop their own additional materials. These
additional materials serve the purpose of meeting actual and concrete needs of Multigrade teaching
within the local context. You should also try to make the national curriculum more relevant to the local
needs of the community. Examples of such curriculum materials include the following:
designing and making small boards, flash cards, etc. to save time in the classroom and to
maximize the time which pupils spend on learning tasks;
using local materials to develop instructional materials and to encourage students to make their
own;
designing workbooks which are suitable for student use within the local context and conditions;
including within these locally designed materials and workbooks activities and knowledge
which are relevant to the local culture;
6. As Action Researcher - Teachers are not usually trained to be educational researchers, since their
main task is to teach. However, it is through research that improvements in teaching take place. In
schools where access to other resources is easily available, it is not as critical that individual teachers
be researchers since they can easily seek the advice of more experienced educators. However, in
Multigrade Teaching schools this advice and resource is not as easily and readily available. Therefore,
the Multigrade teacher must also be a researcher, that is, a person who asks questions in order to
understand better certain phenomenon.
7. As Contact with the Community - In many situations, multigrade teachers, because of their training
and position, assume an important position in the local community. This is the case, not only in the
eyes of the pupils, but also from the parents' perspective. Thus, the multigrade teacher is the critical
link between the school and its community. The nature of many situations where a multigrade school
exists is such that the co-operation and assistance of the local community is needed to improve the
quality of educational services that Multigrade Teaching schools provide. This may include community
involvement in such diverse activities as building and maintaining classrooms, assisting in the
preparation of curriculum teaching aids and acting as a paraprofessional teacher.

C. Bases of the Multigrade Program in the Philippines

The implementation of the multigrade program in the Philippines is based on a legal statute as well as
national and international policies. The bases of implementation are the following:
1. Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that:
Section 1. "The state shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at
all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make education accessible to all"
Section 2. "The state shall, establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate and integrated
system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society".
2. The Department of Education issued the following memoranda with regard the implementation of the
multigrade classes in the Philippines:
a. In D.O. # 96 s. 1997, the following guidelines were stipulated with regard to Multigrade
Classes (MG): "(i) protect and promote the rights of all citizens to accessible quality
education at all levels, (ii) complete six (6) grade levels to children in the remote
 barangays, a class of 2 or more grades (iii), a multigrade class is defined as under one
teacher in a complete or incomplete elementary school, (iv) the class size is 8 to 35
pupils, (v) construction of 3-room school building for MG classes, (vi) classroom layout
should provide for grouping or regrouping, (vii) the provision of textbooks and other
resources, (vii) allocating teacher items and/or assigning teachers in multigrade classes,
(viii) providing support, welfare and incentive program for multigrade teachers such
as: regular monitoring of MG classes, regular training of MG teachers, designated
lodging place of teachers, granting of the Special Hardship Allowance."
b. In D.O. # 81 s. 2009, the following guidelines were stipulated with regard to Multigrade
Classes: "(i) provide access to quality education for all school-age children in remote
communities, (ii) to respond to the issues in the implementation of DepED Order No.
96, s. 1997, the following guidelines are issued: a) strict implementation of Special
Hardship Allowance for Multigrade Teachers, b) assigned teachers should be trained
on multigrade teaching, c) provision of training resources and learning package, d)
training of core of trainers for MG teachers, and e) service of 2 years before a trained
multigrade teacher is transferred."
3. International initiatives support the implementation of Multigrade Programs. In Southeast Asia, the
creation of multigrade schools responds to international commitments to EFA, the Millennium
Development Goals, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child
a. EFA (Education for All) The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization) commits to the achievement of "full and equal opportunities or
education for all (EFA). In addition, Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of
Human Rights states that: "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free
at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary Education shall be
compulsory" (Mundy & Manion, 2021).
b. The Millennium Development Summit and the Millennium Development Declaration
in 2000 set out eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MDG No. 2 is "Achieve
universal primary education" (Mundy, K., & Manion, C., 2021).
c. Education for Sustainable Development Launched in 2015 at the United Nations
Sustainable Development Summit, the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development officially came into force on
January 1, 2016.