A Study On Ability Grouping and Its Effects on Selected Instructional Aspects In Selected Senior Secondary Schools of Addis Ababa
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Date
1993-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The purpose of this study has been to find out
the effects of ability grouping on the instructional
processes , that is, on the uti lization of resources,
application of the different methods and techniques of
teaching , the academic achievement; the socials and emo tional
development of the students; and final l y, its effects on the
working cond i t i ons and work relationship of the teaching
staff in selected senior secondary schools of Addis Ababa.
To this end, samples of students and members of the
academic staff have been selected random l y and were made to
fill in the questionnaires prepared for each of them. In
addition to this, a randomly selected the Ethiopi ~Sc h oo ls
Leav ing Cert if icate Examination ( ESLCE ) results of a matching
he terogeneously taught students and a homogeneously treated
g r oups; a randomly selected c l assroom observations and
interviews with the regional education office authorities
have been used as the sources of data.
The analysis o f the data col l ected fr om the d ifferent
sources s h owed that there are no significant differences in
the utilization of the resources o f the schoo l s , in the
application of the different methods and techniques of
teaching. Similarly, the comparison of the academic
achiev ements of t he heterogeneously taug.t students of thepre -g r ouping ability prac tice and those o f the homogeneously
grouped and taught students haven 't shown significant
differences which are in favour o f the special grouping.
Thus. showing that the expected purpose s o f the grouping
practice in the region have not been attained.
Although the re are no significant differences in the
Academic ach ievements. the grouping practice has showed some
positive and negative effects on the social and e motional
development of both special and non-special group student.
However . the negative effects seem to be more and stron/j[er on
the non-special group students.
Though there are the des ire to exce 1. high
inte llectua l curiosity, self-reliance.
sociability and truthfulness among the
independence.
spec ial c lass
students. t here are some negat i ve c haracte ristics that are
man ifested by them. These inc l ude. the artif i cially inflated
self-esteem or superio rity corrlPelex. boasting. and some
others which have not been o bserved in the heterogeneo u s l y
grouped students by the staff and the students the mselves .
The negative effects o f the prac tices seem to be
higher and stronger on the non-special class students than on
the special c l ass stude nts. It has stigmatized t hem . It
made them feel inferior to their pee rs . lose interest in the
school. develop low self-image. lac k self-contro l . etc.Finally, the findings showed that the ability
grouping practice has not showed any significant effect on
the teachers' working conditions and work relationships.
This is so, because there have been no clearly stated
guidelines as to how the practice has to be accomplished and
the demands and competenc i es required from the teaching staff
whic h consquenty would have affected then!. They teach almost
as wha t they had been doing in a heterogeneously grouped
classes . The teaching met hods and techniques they use in the
special and non- special classes are more or less the same .
Therefore, the effects o f the practice on the teaching staff
are lirr!ited.
Eventhough the contribut i on o f the ability grouping
in the schools a re very limited, its negative effects on the
students are higher than its pos itive effects. To maximize
the contribution of t he p r actice i n the instructiona l p r ocess
and minimize t.he negat i ve effec ts, it needs a c l early set
guidelines on the different activities. The teachers need
training. The separation o f the school who lly f o r the
special students seems logical. In addition t o this, the
number of sections and the large size of the students in each
sec tions are Borne o f the great obstacles to mate rialize the
plan. So it needs great attention to get good results from
the practice .
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A Study On Ability Grouping