International Journal of Educational Development 21 (2001) 481–497 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedudev Multigrade teaching: towards an international research and policy agenda Angela W. Little * Education and International Development Group, Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, UK Abstract Despite its prevalence in many educational systems, multigrade teaching remains invisible. In the global effort to achieve education for all in the post-Dakar decade the needs of multigrade teachers, classes and schools must be addressed. The paper (i) explores the meaning of the term multigrade teaching in developing and industrialised countries and identifies a range of conditions under which it arises; (ii) synthesises knowledge of the practice of and research on multigrade teaching; and (iii) proposes an international agenda for future research on and dissemination of policy and practice. The agenda underlines the need for context-specific questions and comparisons, more awareness of the prevalence and challenges of multigrade teaching, more research on the practices and training needs of multigrade teaching and the exploration of synergies between teachers, curriculum, assessment and classroom organisation. It is suggested that knowledge of multigrade teaching strategies is needed by all teachers and not simply those in classes designated as ‘multigrade’.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Education for all; Multigrade classes; Multigrade teachers; Multigrade schools 1. Introduction An active commitment must be made to remov- ing educational disparities. Underserved groups—the poor; street and working children; rural and remote populations; nomads and migrant workers; indigenous peoples; ethnic, racial and linguistic minorities; refugees; those displaced by war; and people under occu- pation—should not suffer any discrimination in access to learning opportunities. (World Declar- ation on Education for All, WCEFA, 1990, Arti- cle 4, clause 4) * Tel.: +44-20-7612-6623. E-mail address: a.little@ioe.ac.uk (A.W. Little). 0738-0593/01/$ - see front matter  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S0738-0593(01)00011-6 We . . . commit ourselves to . . . ensuring that by 2015 all children, with special emphasis on girls and children in difficult circumstances and from ethnic minorities, have access to and com- plete free and compulsory primary education of good quality. (World Education Forum, 2000, The Dakar Framework for Action, para 7(ii)) At the beginning of the twenty-first century, learning, teaching and curricula in all systems of formal education are based on age-specific groups of learners following curriculum grades sequen- tially. It has not always been so. ‘The age-stratified culture in which we live is largely a product of the last two hundred years’ (Pratt, 1986:111). And in his discussion of the origins of the educational