Nongraded Multi-age Grouping
Research findings reveal that the longer students are in non-graded programs the more positive their school-related attitudes become. Researchers note however, that teachers sometimes interfere with cross-age interactions, either by conducting too many teacher directed activities or by putting children in age-similar groups too much of the time. Compared with children in graded settings, those in non-graded programs exhibited more positive outcomes in the following areas:
- Social Skill Development
- Leadership skill development
- Frequency of interaction
- Pro-social behaviors/reduced aggression among student, such as giving, sharing, taking turns, giving praise and reassurance.