Students' Experiences of Ability Grouping—disaffection, polarisation and the construction of failure†

By Jo Boaler, Dylan Wiliam *, M. Brown. 2000

527 citations recorded by the source corpus.

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/d554b197f01ff05143be5dc954470765e461bae8

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Citations in the corpus

Experiencing mathematics classes: Ability grouping, gender and the selective development of participative identities (2007, unknown): “Although these findings are not unusual in that they are in line with previous research concerning ability groups and attainment in mathematics (Boaler et al., 2000, Ireson et al., 2002) they do raise the question of exactly why teaching style should make a difference in this way.”
It's not which school but which set you're in that matters: the influence of ability grouping practices on student progress in mathematics (2004, result): “Echoing the results of our earlier paper (Boaler et al 2000), it appears that the most pernicious effects of setting may not be necessary consequences of grouping students by ability, but appear when teachers use traditional, teacher-directed whole-class teaching.”
The effects of pupil grouping : literature review (2005, background): “Curriculum-oriented grouping of pupils is strongly associated with perceived abilitylevel of children and will have differential effects of future achievement, especially limiting achievement of lower ability children (Ireson & Hallam, 1999; Boaler et al., 2000; Shachar, 2003).”
The Construction of Identity in Secondary Mathematics Education (2000, unknown): “Donald, J. (1985). Beacons of the future: schooling, subjection and subjectification. In V. Beechey & J. Donald (Eds.), Subjectivity and social relations. Milton Keyes: Open University Press. Erikson, E. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton. Lave, J. (1992). Learning as participation”
Mathematics Anxiety (2017, background): “Previous research confirms how harmful and misguided ability grouping in mathematics can be (Boaler et al., 2000).”
Tracking and Inequality: New Directions for Research and Practice (2009, background): “Kerckhoff used data from the National Child Development Study, which followed for more than 30 years all children born in the U.K. in the first week of March in 1958.”
Ability Grouping in English Secondary Schools: Effects on Attainment in English, Mathematics and Science (2002, result): “Boaler et al. (2000) reported similar patterns in mathematics, with teachers taking little account of the differences between pupils in sets and treating them as though they were identical in ability, preferred learning style and pace of working.”
The construction of a mathematical habitus: implications of ability grouping in the middle years (2005, methodology): “…of ability grouping is in spite of the international research that demonstrates the practice does not enhance the learning of students and, indeed, can hinder learning, particularly for students in the lower streams (Slavin 1990, Gamoran 1992, Boaler 1997b, Boaler et al. 2000, Zevenbergen 2001).”
GIRLS R OCK, B OYS R OLL: AN A NAL Y SI S O F T H E A G E 1 4 -1 6 GENDER G AP I N E N GLISH S C HOOLS (2004, unknown): “In contrast, Boaler et al (2000) suggest that there is underachievement by girls at the top end of the ability distribution that may be linked to the high pressure, high expectation environments in top-set classes.”
Study Involvement of Academic and Vocational Students: Does Between-School Tracking Sharpen the Difference? (2009, background): “In addition, there is less required academically from lower ability group students than from higher ability group students (Boaler et al., 2000; Delrue, 2003; Evertson, 1982; Goodlad, 1984; Hargreaves, 1967; Oakes, 1985; Page, 1991; Persell, 1977; Schwartz, 1981; Stevens & Vermeersch, in press).”
Girls in the physics classroom: a review of the research on the participation of girls in physics (2006, result): “…that this might reflect the learning environment of top groups, as other research into mathematics teaching and learning had found that girls disliked the approach in top sets, which were seen to be competitive, fast paced and not conducive to developing deep understanding (Boaler et al. 2000).”
Mathematics and science inequalities in the United Kingdom: when elitism, sexism and culture collide (2011, background): “…teachers decide what students can do, and place them into a group that determines their level of work and future performance, has been found, repeatedly, to increase inequities, particularly for students from lower SES backgrounds (Ball, 1981; Boaler, 1997c, 2005; 2009; Boaler et al., 2000).”
Dealing with ‘fragile identities’: resistance and refiguring in women mathematics students (2011, unknown): “Although this is by no means the sole province of girls and women, they do appear to express such fragile identities more often or at least more readily, not only during the compulsory school years (Bartholomew, 1999; Boaler, 1997; Boaler et al., 2000; Solomon, 2007a), but also within 6 form and Hig”