The practice of separating twins into different classrooms at the start of their schooling is challenged in a new report.
Of 131 elementary school principals interviewed by researcher Lynn Melby Gordon of California State University, Northridge, 93 said they believe that twins should be separated in kindergarten, a belief shared by around half of 54 teachers. Of 201 parents of twins, 191 said they believe they know their children best, and schools should honor their placement requests.
Twins themselves, especially girls, overwhelmingly said they preferred to be in the same class with their siblings. That was the choice of 91 of the 112 kindergarten and preschool twins interviewed for the study. Parents also reported that separating from a twin in school was “traumatic” for 3 percent of the children; another 17 percent were “somewhat traumatized,” according to their parents. Ms. Gordon’s study was published earlier this year in Educational Policy.
