The perceptions, policy, and practice of educating twins: A review

Abstract

Twin births are increasing at a rapid rate, yet many educational personnel throughout the world are unaware of the needs of twins in school. Stereotypical views of twins as pathologically close or excessively dependent pervade educational policies and practices, despite the fact that twins do not differ from singletons on rates of psychological disturbance. Research shows that many schools implement strict policies for classroom placement of twins, yet the effects of such policies on twins' development and educational attainment are currently unknown. Recommendations for school personnel and future directions for this formative area are discussed.

No effect of classroom sharing on educational achievement in twins: a prospective, longitudinal cohort study

“…In The Netherlands an increasing practice of separating twins is reported,2 3 whereas in Scandinavian countries multiples almost always share the classroom 4. Educational policies and practice – independent of a focus on sharing or separation – seem to be based on popularised stereotypic depictions of twins (in general monozygotic pairs) rather than on empirical research 5. Hay and Preedy6 emphasise a clear and evidence-based recommendation on which school policies and even ongoing legislative initiatives in the USA7 can be based, as “teachers and parents should be aware of particular issues that may affect the physical, intellectual, personal, social, and emotional development of multiple birth children”.…”

Educating Multiples in the Classroom: Together or Separate?

“…Some teachers support parents in this idea because keeping twins and multiples together provides teachers with more opportunities to get to know the children and their family better (Beauchamp and Brooks 2003). Separation can also be detrimental to children since it may cause undue stress to the children and family involved.…”

“…Multiples also tend to share interests and activities with their sibling peers. When this occurs, one child may become dominant while another becomes shy and unwilling to express his or her ideas (Beauchamp and Brooks 2003).…”

To separate or not to separate? Parental decision-making regarding the separation of twins in the early years of schooling

“…In an organizational level approach, decisions are made without regard to the individual experiences, personalities, relationships and wishes of the unique twin pairs and are most often based on explicit beliefs and ideologies relating to multiple birth children as a homogeneous group (Beauchamp and Brooks, 2003; Dean, 1999; Larche, 2007; Nilsson et al, 2009; Preedy, 2001). When this policy is one of separation, several key beliefs are given as justification for these decisions.…”

“…The key question is whether the presence or absence of the co-twin is problematic. Adverse effects of the inter-twin relationship on social and academic engagement, particularly problems associated with competition, dominance and identity development, have been presented as the justification of decisions to separate (Beauchamp and Brooks, 2003; Hay and Preedy, 2006; Segal and Russell, 1992). However, the assumption that the co-twin relationship may impede healthy social interaction and academic attainment has derived from the publication of small group analyses (Ballarà and Bollea, 1994; Paluszny and Gibson, 1974) and highly salient case studies of twins with problematic or pathological relationships (Luria and Yudovich, 1959; Wallace, 1996) rather than from larger community samples.…”