EDUC 9 NOTES

A. History of multigrade classes

In 1800’s, 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
(Brunswie and valerian, 2004, as cited “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, multigrade classes have remained an essential school
structure especially in remote areas.

Unesco, 2015- defined multigrade teaching as the teaching of classes of

learners who are not only different grade levels, but are also diverse age
groups, cultures and abilities. A multigrade class has two or more grades
under one teacher with 8 to 35 students (Villalino, 2010).

The socio-economic condition in countries where multigrade classes are

found vary. Generally, 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’s attendance and student achievement,
(Profile of multigrade schools in the Philippines, n.d)

These classes exist for a wide variety of reasons (Mathot, 20010. For most
Southeast Asian countries, it is seen as the means to achieve quality
education for all (SEAMEO INNOTECH Research Updates, n.d.) Multigrade
classes may also be the result of the community or neighborhood’s
geographical location, socio-economic or cultural conditions. Access to
education may be difficult for children living in remote mountain
barangays. Socio-economic constraints may also prevent children from
attending schools. Cultural practices may require children to perform
domestic and agricultural tasks. These factors would result in the decline
of students. Thus, students from varying levels or ages need to be
combined to comprise one class, the multigrade class.

Little, A (2004) Identified the following conditions where

multigrade teaching arises:
1. Schools with low population
2. Classrooms are distributed at various locations
3. Decline of the number of students
4. Children go to more popular schools
5. The number of students exceeds official class size requirements,
causing students from different grade levels to be combined
6. High teacher absenteesism
 7. Less deployment of teachers
8. Pedagogical purposes
SEAMEO, 2012 identified the following reasons:
1. the provision of complete education or access services in rural, thinly
populated areas (Thomas and Shaw, 1992)
2. declining populations of students in small towns and villages in European
countries
3. In some nations like Zambia budgetary and manpower constraints made
them unable to create and sustain full-fledged schools
4. geographical characteristics of countries are affected by limited student’s
populations or inaccessibility
5. commitment to fulfill certain international and national obligations. For
example, in Vietnam has also launched multigrade training to achieve its
national EFA (Education for All) targets (Huong, 2010)

B. Roles of a Multigrade Teacher

1. Researcher
2. Facilitator
3. Community Liaison/Resource person
4. Social worker/counselor
5. Evaluator
6. Material designer
7. Financial supervisor
8. Parent trainer
9. Surrogate parent
C. Bases of the Multigrade Program in the Philippines
1. The Philippine Constitution serve as the basis for the
implementation of the Multigrade program in the Philippines
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 2.1 “the state shall, establish, a maintain and support a

complete, adequate and integrated of education relevant to needs of
the people and society’.

2. Department of Education
a. DO #96 s.1997, the following guidelines were stipulated
with regard to Multigrade Classes (MG)
1. Protect and promote the rights of all citizens to accessible quality
education at all levels
2. Comple six grade levels to children in the remote barangays
3. A multigrade class is defined as a class of 2 or more grades
under one teacher in a complete or incomplete elementary
school
4. The class size is 8 to 35 pupils
5. Construction of 3-room school building for MG classes
6. classroom layout should provide for grouping or regrouping
7. the provision of textbooks and other resources
 8. allocating teacher items and or assigning teacher in MG classes
9. 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 special hardship allowance
b. DO #81 s.2009, the following guidelines were stipulated
with regard to MG classes:
1. Provide access to quality education for all school-aged children in
remote communities
2. To respond to the issues in the implementation of DEpEd Order
#96, s.1997, the following guidelines are issued:
a. Strict implementation of Special Hardship Allowance for MG
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
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 the international commitments to EFA, the Millennium
Development Goals and the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(SEAMEO-INNOTECH research updates, n.d.)
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 and Manion, 2021)

The following 2 goals of EFA have their implications in creating

situation for multigrade teaching in different countries (Aryal, et.al.
2003)
Goal 2: “Ensure that by 2015 all children, particularly girls children
in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities,
have access to and are to complete primary education that is free,
compulsory and of good quality”.

Goal 6: “Improve all aspects of the quality of education and ensure

excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning
outcomes are achieved by all especially in literacy, numeracy and
life skills”
b. The Millennium Development Summit and the Millennium
Development declaration in 2000 set out eight millennium
development goals (MGD’s). MGD #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 17 SGD’s of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development officially came into force on January 1, 2016. SDG 4,
focusing on quality education, aims to ensure “Inclusive and
equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning for all.
To fulfill the above-mentioned goals, countries have increased
access to learning opportunities for all school children especially in
the remote rural areas through the creation of the multigrade
classes.

MDGs 2015

SDGs 2030