This study aimed to determine the implementation of multigrade instruction in Batangas Province. Specifically, it sought information on the distinct features of multigrade instruction in terms of years of implementation, number of students per class, grade level combination, teachers’ role and classroom management. It also gathered the assessments of administrators and teachers on the implementation of multigrade instruction with regard to its objectives, contents, teaching strategies, instructional materials and evaluative process while significant differences between their assessments were determined. Alongside these, constraints met by teachers in the implementation of multigrade instruction were also identified.
This research work made use of descriptive research design and involved 55 multigrade teachers and 17 administrators from the 17 schools in Area II in Batangas Province. Relevant data were collected with the use of researcher-made questionnaire and documentary analysis. Frequency count, ranking, weighted mean and t- Test were the statistical tools used in this study.
The findings of the study showed that majority of multigrade classrooms in Batangas Province were found implementing the program from 11-15 years, with 11-15 students per class, combined Grades IV and V classes, with teachers who prepare instructional materials based from lesson objectives in the grade level and allow pupils to sit by grade level facing their own blackboard. Considering the implementation of multigrade instruction, administrators and teachers assessed that the objectives, contents, teaching strategies and instructional materials were implemented to a great extent while evaluative processes were often used.
Significantly, the study also bared that there were no significant differences in the assessments of administrators and teachers when it comes to the implementation of multigrade instruction with regard to its objectives, teaching strategies, instructional materials and evaluative process while a significant difference existed between the assessments of administrators and teachers when it comes to the contents of multigrade instruction. Inadequate teachers’ trainings for the demands of multigrade instruction, inadequate learning materials and facilities and lack of textbooks and support for multigrade instruction programs, projects and activities emerged as some of the very serious problems a multigrade teacher faces.
With the findings and conclusions reached, the study recommended that technical assistance should be given to multigrade teachers from their immediate superiors in order for them to improve the performance of their roles and manage their classroom well and overcome the problems they met in implementing the program while substantial trainings and teaching-learning materials should also be provided for the full implementation of multigrade instruction. It was also suggested that the proposed multigrade instruction management plan should be reviewed and modified for possible implementation in Batangas Province.