Differentiation in the primary school: A study of primary school policies on pupil allocation
Abstract
This study, which was conducted in 14 primary schools in County Victoria, Trinidad, investigated organizational practices that condition and establish teaching and learning in these schools. The major assumption of the study was that primary schools in the sample engaged in tracking or ability grouping, to enable students to gain more places in the traditional sector of the education system, instead of schools being organized for teaching and learning more broadly conceived. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire and interviews. It was found that: 1) policies and practices used to allocate students in classes in the schools were based on practices of ability grouping throughout the school, 2) teachers deemed by principals to be of higher-ability were assigned to classes considered of higher ability, 3) primary school principals valued secondary school places in the traditional sector more highly than in the new sector, 4) "skipping" students is not widely practised, 5) extra lessons are given at Standards 4 and 5 to improve the performance of students in the Common Entrance Examination (CEE), and 6) there are no differences in allocation policies between government and denominational schools