Student Grouping: Investigating a Socio-Educational Practice in a Public School in Portugal

Abstract

Social inclusion of children and young people and the curbing of school failure, dropout, and early school leaving is are central concerns of the European educational policy and are seen as means to prevent unemployment, poverty, and social exclusion. In Portugal, as in other European countries, to address this issue, several programs have been designed and developed. This article aims to investigate how teachers, technicians, and parents involved in a socio-educational practice of student grouping envisage processes that contribute to overcoming school failure, dropout, and early school leaving. This qualitative case study took place in a Portuguese municipality within a school-based nationwide intervention programme. From the voices of the educational agents consulted, some vectors of institutional, dispositional, and situational dimensions were identified that contribute to overcoming ‘barriers to access and participation in education’, which promote some changes among students at an individual level. The research findings highlight processes, factors, and logics of action that allow teachers to work closely with their students and tailor the pace and curriculum contents to their needs, thereby enhancing students’ academic performance.