ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION Volume 1 MIXED ABILITY GROUPING MIXED ABILITY GROUPING A Philosophical Perspective CHARLES BAILEY AND DAVID BRIDGES Firstpublishedin1983byGeorgeAllen&Unwin(Publishers)Ltd Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2017 byRoutledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN andbyRoutledge 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninforma business ©1983CharlesBaileyandDavidBridges Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedor reproducedorutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical, orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,including photocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformationstorageor retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksor registeredtrademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationand explanationwithoutintenttoinfringe. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary ISBN:978-1-138-20902-2(Set) ISBN:978-1-315-45789-5(Set)(ebk) ISBN:978-1-138-69188-9(Volume1)(hbk) ISBN:978-1-315-53361-2(Volume1)(ebk) Publisher’sNote Thepublisherhasgonetogreatlengthstoensurethequalityofthis reprintbutpointsoutthatsomeimperfectionsintheoriginalcopies maybeapparent. Disclaimer Thepublisherhasmadeeveryefforttotracecopyrightholdersand wouldwelcomecorrespondencefromthosetheyhavebeenunableto trace. Mixed Ability Grouping: A Philosophical Perspective CHARLES BAILEY and DAVID BRIDGES London GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN Boston Sydney ©Charles Bailey and David Bridges, 1983. This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved. George ADen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd, 40 Museum Street, London WClA lLU, UK George Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd, Park Lane, Heme! Hempstead, Herts HP2 4TE, UK Allen & Unwin, Inc., 9 Winchester Terrace, Winchester, Mass. 01890, USA George Allen & Unwin Australia Pty Ltd, 8 Napier Street North Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia First published in 1983. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Bailey, Charles Mixed ability grouping. l. Nongraded schools. I. Title II. Bridges, David 371.2'52 LB1029.N6 ISBN 0-04-370134-5 ISBN 0-04-370135-3 Pbk Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Bailey, Charles. Mixed ability grouping. (Introductory studies in philosophy of education) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Ability grouping in education. I. Bridges, David. II. Title. III. Series. LB306l.B34 1983 371.2'52 83-3846 ISBN 0-04-370134-5 ISBN 0-04-370135-3 (pbk.) Set in 11 on 12 point Plantin by Computape (Pickering) Ltd, North Yorkshire and printed in Great Britain by Billing and Sons Ltd, London and Worcester Contents Introduction page Xl 1 'Mixed Ability'-What Do We Mean? 1 2 The Rationale 11 3 Justice and Equality 27 4 Fraternity 38 5 Grouping, Teaching Styles and Subjects 46 6 The Lessons of Experience 61 7 'Going Mixed Ability'-Who Should Decide? 65 Notes on Further Reading 71 Select Bibliography 74 Index 77 To our wives, Joyce and Angela