Inclusive approach in heterogeneous student groups through the implementation of differentiated and individualized teaching at the first level of primary school
Abstract
The presentation at the conference focuses on the current trend of improving the quality of education, which brings increased demands on teacher competences when introducing differentiated teaching for primary school pupils in a heterogeneously composed classroom, from the very beginning of schooling. The Ministry of Education, in its Strategy for Education Policy of the Czech Republic until 2030+, emphasises didactic practices in teaching that allow differentiating teaching according to the needs of pupils.
However, many teachers are not sufficiently prepared to do this and there is very little relevant literature and research to help them in practice. This presentation summarises the latest findings in this area, analysing the concept of intrinsic differentiation, not only its cognitive aspects but also the social dimensions of teaching.
It emphasizes the importance of this issue for the improvement of the primary school level in the contemporary socio-economic context of the issue of equal educational opportunities in society. It emphasises knowledge of specific pupils and their individual peculiarities as an important condition for the implementation of internal differentiation.
It also discusses the possibilities of differentiation in relation to the content of education, methods and organisational forms of teaching. It lists the pedagogical means by which differentiated and individualised teaching is implemented in the teaching process.
Improving the level of basic education by means of internal differentiation of teaching is a long-term and, given the increasing heterogeneity of large school communities, difficult task. The main objective of the research was to map the implementation of differentiated and individualised teaching by five teachers in five primary schools in the Pardubice, Central Bohemia and Hradec Kralove Region, focusing on the main subjects of Czech language and mathematics in grades 1-3 of primary school.
In our presentation, we present an analysis of the first stage of the research, in the first grades, with a selected sample of teachers who use differentiated instruction to a greater or lesser extent, and who manage those grades for three years of schooling. In the first stage of the research, we will focus primarily on the use of pedagogical means of differentiation and individualization and their impact on student achievement and the effectiveness of the teaching process