Harvesting the crops of ability grouping practice in schools from the field of literature

Abstract

AbstractStudents of diverse abilities tend to be divided into groups that advocate academic homogeneity. Ability grouping practice is embedded within the contemporary hyper-accountability culture in education that has shifted the focus of the teaching community from promoting academic attainment in pupils to being highly ranked in the market-based education system. To maintain an ascending position and avoid “punitive measures, schools adopt stratification according to the pupils” academic abilities. Ability grouping strategy is commonplace in countries like the United States of America (USA), Canada, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia, but the intensity of this practice is unfavourable. This study aims to visit the scholarly work of the authors of the western world to comprehend the history and the advances in the ability grouping practice. The collected data from several studies endorse that ability grouping leads educational establishments to inculcate diverse educational experiences and opportunities for learners. Thus, dividing learners into academic groups contributes to broadening the socioeconomic gap.

Keywords

• ability grouping
• streaming
• stratifying
• setting
• inequality