Background: This article casts the analytical spotlight on the practice of within-class homogeneous (same) ability grouping where learners are placed in small groups for instruction based on their perceived performances, reading levels and interest. Very few studies have focused on within-class ability grouping, especially in a South African context, where this homogeneous style within-class grouping is the dominant practice in Grade 1 classrooms, despite literature’s cautions against its continuous use. Aim: This article aims to address the following questions: what are the manifestations of the practice of within-class homogeneous ability grouping, and how does it account for learner achievement levels in Grade 1 classrooms? Setting: A total of 12 Grade 1 learners, in relation to their teachers and their principals, from three selected public schools in the Western Cape, were interviewed and observed within a classroom setting. Bourdieu’s work is used to explain the interiority and exteriority of social relations, how practice gets internalised and embodied on the inside, and manifested in various ways on the outside. Methods: This empirical exploration used the qualitative-interpretive paradigm and followed a multiple case study approach where 6-year-old Grade 1 learners were observed and analysed. Results: The results show differential treatment of groups and the labelling of learners, which gets internalised constituting particular learner dispositions and resulting in learner agency. Furthermore, it shows how learner agency is being informed and constituted in ways that affect their educational outcomes in profound ways. Conclusion: The author argues that by placing children in groups based on their perceived ability results in the children gaining differential learner experiences and ultimately attaining differential learner achievement levels. In other words, it creates differential environments within the same classroom enabling some to outshine while disabling others.

中文翻译：

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班内同质能力分组实践的表现

背景：本文将分析重点放在班级同质（相同）能力分组的实践上，在该分组中，根据学习者的表现，阅读水平和兴趣将他们分成小组进行指导。很少有研究集中在班级能力分组上，特别是在南非语境下，尽管文献警告不要继续使用，但这种同质风格的班级分组是一年级教室的主要练习。目的：本文旨在解决以下问题：班级内同质能力分组实践的表现是什么？它如何解释一年级教室中学习者的成就水平？地点：总共有12名1年级学习者，涉及他们的老师和校长，在课堂环境中对来自西开普省三所选定的公立学校的学生进行了采访和观察。布迪厄的著作用来解释社会关系的内在性和外在性，实践如何在内部被内化和体现，并在外部以各种方式体现出来。方法：该实证研究使用了定性解释范式，并采用了多案例研究的方法，观察和分析了6岁的1年级学习者。结果：结果表明，对群体和学习者的标签进行了区别对待，这种分化被内在化，从而构成了特定的学习者性格并导致了学习者的代理。此外，它显示了如何以深刻的方式影响学习成果的方式来告知和组织学习者机构。结论：作者认为，通过将孩子根据他们的感知能力分组，可以使孩子获得不同的学习者体验，并最终获得不同的学习者成就水平。换句话说，它在同一个教室内创建了不同的环境，从而使某些教室变得更加耀眼，而其他教室却被禁用。