Identification of factors affecting quality improvement of multi-grade classes in Elementary Schools

Multi-grade classes are one of the important strategies of the Ministry of Education in order to provide access to quality education for students in less developed and remote areas with less population. The aim of the present study was to identify the factors affecting the quality of multi-grade classes. This research was conducted using qualitative approach and thematic analysis method in 1400. The statistical population includes educational leaders, professors of North Khorasan, Razavi and South Khorasan provinces who have teaching experience in multi-level classes or about multi-level classes. The statistical sample of this research is 12 university professors and educational leaders who were selected using the purposeful sampling method. The data was collected using a semi-structured interview based on the principle of saturation. After analyzing the data using review validation by the interviewees, peer review, and note taking, 198 primary codes were obtained, which were grouped into 35 general categories. The model obtained from this research showed that in the quality of multi-grade classes, 5 main themes include professional competence and characteristics related to the teacher, family, physical condition of the class and schools, macro-educational policies and themes related to learners.