Educational goals of teachers in heterogeneous and homogeneous classes in elementary and junior high school

Abstract

Teachers ( N = 108) of low-achieving homogeneous, high-achieving homogeneous, and academically heterogeneous classes in nine elementary schools and 10 junior high schools in Israel were interviewed to determine their allegiance to academic, personal, and social goals for students. In contrast to results of American research, the academic goal dominated for teachers in all settings. Only for teachers of heterogeneous classes in elementary school was a tendency towards balance in goal orientations apparent. Several explanations for the results are discussed.