in primary schools
Streaming in schools in Aotearoa is under justifiable attack.
The Tokona Te Raki anti-streaming movement has gathered pace with a number of high-profile secondary schools pledging to cease streaming, and the campaign received teacher union backing.
However streaming is also a practice embedded in the practice of primary schools across Aotearoa. For many people teaching in primary schools, ability grouping is a demonstration of an ethical commitment to learners.
The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (TECANZ) Code of Professional Responsibility requires teachers to use practices that support the needs and abilities of all learners. Streaming, also described as ability grouping, can be judged as an ethical choice, as the needs and abilities of learners are supported.
Or are they? Comparing my teaching practice through the 1980s and 1990s and research into the impact of streaming on children has led me to rethink my ethical stance on this.
Link to article: Streaming unethical in primary schools (newsroom.co.nz)
