Teaching and learning in small, rural schools in four European countries: Introduction and synthesis of mixed-/multi-age approaches

As part of teaching and learning in small, rural schools, we investigate teaching and learning approaches in multi-grade classes. This introduction to four papers of a special edition, each of which documents practices in a different area of Europe, presents the background of the discourse on teaching mixed- or multi-age classes and provides information concerning the context of teaching in rural schools. As a synthesis, we outline a didactical framework of the mixed-age teaching approaches derived from the four papers and discuss the possible implementation of these approaches in the classroom. Finally, we propose to lead the rural education discourse away from the rural-urban antagonism to a more integrated view of dealing with heterogeneity in the classroom in general. The teaching approaches presented in this introduction can add to the theory of adaptive teaching.