Class sizes
Small classrooms
Large Classrooms
If schools were to reduce class sizes it could possibly have a negative impact on the school's environment, by this, meaning needing much more space than some schools already has, as many may only have the required amount of room for pupils (Simpson, 2010). This cost have an effect on the school's budget as they would need to find funding to increase the amount of rooms needed. A matter of fact they may need to add-on a new building altogether just to gain access to more classrooms. If schools have already got extra room these rooms may be already being used for subjects such as IT suite, music room etc. Would schools be willing to give up these rooms to then be used for extra classrooms.
Furthermore, schools would have to take on more staff, more TA staff and QT staff and if class sizes are too big schools may not attract teachers and find that parents may decide to put their children in private schools or schools which have fewer children in their class (Kelly & Scafidi, 2013). In contrast to this the schools may feel that their views on reducing class sizes can help staff to give more attention to their pupils, which is understandable as its minimal distractions as it is very popular in schools to have reduced class sizes (Han & Ryu, 2017).
"Too large a class, however, means an increased chance of having several disruptive students, lack of attention on the part of those who are susceptible to distraction, and more opportunities to hide for students who don't want to reveal their lack of understanding, don't wish to work, or have personal difficulties that are preventing their learning progress." (WNYC, 2018).
But, shouldn't the level of teaching be more important than how many children are in one classroom and secondly recruiting and retaining high quality teachers should be more important (Barrett & Toma, 2013; Darling-Hammond, 2000). Complementary to this, schools in south Korea invest in teacher training, this had a huge impact on their Pisa score showing that their capability to improve their work ethic and implement their training on teaching their pupils. (Ridley, 2013) On the other hand, Luxembourg reduced their class sizes and have been out performed ever since by South Korea, this makes you wonder is reducing class sizes the answer? (find ref) That aside studies have found that pupils from much smaller classes have improved scoring in academic tests later years than pupils who have spent their schooling in larger classes. (Dustmann, C., et. al. 2013).
Looking at a different study, it’s been shown that smaller class sizes are important at the start of children school years such as early years, foundation phase but, has minimal effect on their learning throughout secondary (Blatchford, 2012; De Bruyckere, 2015). Reducing class sizes can mean that teachers will have less time on paperwork duties and spend more time teaching. However, teachers can mark and give feedback during teaching. This can help children in the long run as they'll be given feedback on what they done correctly and what they need to improve on there and then. It can be an effective approach in teaching and it means the teacher is given them support at that present time. (Simpson, 2010).
In this research about does class size matter I
have concluded that there is more of an argument about class size does matter
in appose to class size doesn't matter. The quality of teaching is very
important, but, the number of children per class is highly important, due to
the safety of the children, the amount of support children can get, and children
can interact more rather than just take in the information as they feel more confident in smaller sized classrooms.
Reference list
Large Classrooms
If schools were to reduce class sizes it could possibly have a negative impact on the school's environment, by this, meaning needing much more space than some schools already has, as many may only have the required amount of room for pupils (Simpson, 2010). This cost have an effect on the school's budget as they would need to find funding to increase the amount of rooms needed. A matter of fact they may need to add-on a new building altogether just to gain access to more classrooms. If schools have already got extra room these rooms may be already being used for subjects such as IT suite, music room etc. Would schools be willing to give up these rooms to then be used for extra classrooms.
Furthermore, schools would have to take on more staff, more TA staff and QT staff and if class sizes are too big schools may not attract teachers and find that parents may decide to put their children in private schools or schools which have fewer children in their class (Kelly & Scafidi, 2013). In contrast to this the schools may feel that their views on reducing class sizes can help staff to give more attention to their pupils, which is understandable as its minimal distractions as it is very popular in schools to have reduced class sizes (Han & Ryu, 2017).
The more pupils the more distractions!
"Too large a class, however, means an increased chance of having several disruptive students, lack of attention on the part of those who are susceptible to distraction, and more opportunities to hide for students who don't want to reveal their lack of understanding, don't wish to work, or have personal difficulties that are preventing their learning progress." (WNYC, 2018).
But, shouldn't the level of teaching be more important than how many children are in one classroom and secondly recruiting and retaining high quality teachers should be more important (Barrett & Toma, 2013; Darling-Hammond, 2000). Complementary to this, schools in south Korea invest in teacher training, this had a huge impact on their Pisa score showing that their capability to improve their work ethic and implement their training on teaching their pupils. (Ridley, 2013) On the other hand, Luxembourg reduced their class sizes and have been out performed ever since by South Korea, this makes you wonder is reducing class sizes the answer? (find ref) That aside studies have found that pupils from much smaller classes have improved scoring in academic tests later years than pupils who have spent their schooling in larger classes. (Dustmann, C., et. al. 2013).
Looking at a different study, it’s been shown that smaller class sizes are important at the start of children school years such as early years, foundation phase but, has minimal effect on their learning throughout secondary (Blatchford, 2012; De Bruyckere, 2015). Reducing class sizes can mean that teachers will have less time on paperwork duties and spend more time teaching. However, teachers can mark and give feedback during teaching. This can help children in the long run as they'll be given feedback on what they done correctly and what they need to improve on there and then. It can be an effective approach in teaching and it means the teacher is given them support at that present time. (Simpson, 2010).
"What could be more obvious, fewer pupils in a class is
surely better for the pupils and for the teacher?" (Blatchford, 2012,
p.57).
Here is a link to: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-38676735 in this article it will tell you about Kirsty Williams proposal on
spending £36 million for reducing infant class sizes.
By taking on this approach, how do the government know that
this will be the right option. Its good to know that the government are willing
to expand on schools to bring in more classrooms but, if you take in account
every school in Wales is £35 million enough to help fund each school that will
need the required number of extended classrooms, more teachers, more resources?
(Barrett & Toma, 2013; Darling-Hammond, 2000). Wouldn't it make more sense
on spending the money on outdoor resourcing, more TA staff and advanced teacher
training? (Simpson, S. 2010). Another point to add, it may be effective in
primary education but, it not evidently proven to have a great effect in
secondary. If children were to be struggling with literacy, numeracy or need
additional learning support it would benefit children to be in smaller class
rooms as they can get more support which will enrich their academic performance
(Blatchford et al., 2002; Horning, 2007). "Research also suggests that
smaller class sizes can help students develop greater ability to adapt to intellectual
and educational challenges". (Fleming, Toutant, & Raptis, 2002).
In 2016 education secretary agreed on downsizing classes to
25 pupils - Here is a link that will give you a further understanding on the
topic https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-36531246
Here are a few key points about why class size does matter:
- Smaller groups mean fewer voices, more feedback (Simpson, 2010)
- Teachers have more opportunity to observe a class (Simpson, 2010)
- Teachers have more time to work on children strengths and weaknesses in smaller size class (Simpson, 2010)
- Teachers spend less time regaining control and concentration on the class and more time on actual teaching (Simpson, 2010)
- More opportunities for the children to ask questions, faster response to questions and greater opportunities for the class discussions (Barbara, Larry, and Konstantopoulos, 2000)
- Better teacher and student relationships, this helps with their social skills. It encourages children to co-operate and communicate which allows pupils to develop stronger relationships with peers (NCTE, 2014)
- Department for Education, (2011) mentioned that 96% of parents thought that the number of children in a class affected the quality of teaching. In contrast to this having a bigger class means more opinions to learn from each other, they learn by their own motivation, children can still succeed. It doesn't mean that they cannot earn better marks due to being in a bigger class. (DFES, 2011).
- Research by Glass and Smith (1979) analysed that 300 reports that involved 900,000 students found that once the class size fell below around 15 their learning increased progressively.
- Teachers have more flexibility to use different instructional approaches (Simpson, 2010)
- The Tennessee STAR experiment (over 4 years) In kindergarten were split into different class sizes and were followed until grade 3. It was found that in grade 2 the classes with smaller numbers of pupils achieved better results (Barbara, Larry, and Konstantopoulos, S. 2000).
Here is a 5-minute clip explain why smaller class size matters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv-1rW_QRP8
Reference list
Barbara, N., Larry, V.H., and Konstantopoulos, S. (2000)
'The effects of small classes on academic achievement: The results of the
Tennessee class size experiment', American
Educational Research Journal, 37(1), pp.123-151
Barrett, N., & Toma, E. F. (2013). Reward or punishment?
Class size and teacher quality. Economics
of Education Review, 35, 41–52.
Blatchford, P., Goldstein, H., Martin, D., & Browne, W.
(2002). ‘A study of class size effects in English school reception year classes’,
British Educational Research Journal,
28(2), pp. 169–185.
Blatchford, P. (2012) 'Class size: is small better?'
Buckingham: Open University Press.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher quality and student
achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Educational Policy Analysis
Archives 8.
DFES (2011) Class size and education in England: evidence
report. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/class-size-and-education-in-england-evidence-report (Accessed on: 1st December 2018).
Dustmann, C., et. al. (2013). ‘Class size, education and
wages’, Economics Journal.
Fleming, R., Toutant, T., & Raptis, H. (2002). Class
size and effects: A review. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational
Foundation.
Glass, G. V. and Smith, M. L. (1979) ‘Meta-Analysis of
Research on Class Size and Achievement’, Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 1(1), pp. 2–16. doi: 10.3102/01623737001001002.
Hans, J., and Ryu, K. (2017) Effects on class sizes reduction in upper grades: Evidence from Seoul, Korea. Education of Economics Review. DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.07.004
Horning, A. (2007). The Definitive Article on Class Size. WPA: Writing Program Administration 31(1/2), pp. 14-34.
Hans, J., and Ryu, K. (2017) Effects on class sizes reduction in upper grades: Evidence from Seoul, Korea. Education of Economics Review. DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.07.004
Horning, A. (2007). The Definitive Article on Class Size. WPA: Writing Program Administration 31(1/2), pp. 14-34.
Kelly, J., & Scafidi, J. (2013). More Than Scores: An
Analysis of How and Why Parents Choose Schools. Friedman Foundation for
Educational Choice. https://www.edchoice.org/research/more-than-scores/ (Accessed on: 1st December 2018).
National Union of Teachers. Teacher recruitment and
retention. https://www.teachers.org.uk/edufacts/teacher-recruitment-and-retention.2015. (Accessed on: 30th November 2018).
NCTE, (2014) Why class size matters today. http://www2.ncte.org/statement/why-class-size-matters/ (Accessed on: 1st December 2018).
Ripley, A. (2013) The smartest kids in the world: and how
they got that way. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Simpson, S. 2010, "Why class size matters",
Education, 91(5), p. 22
WNYC (2018) Teachers weighing in on class size say over 20
is usually too big. https://www.wnyc.org/story/teachers-weighing-class-size-say-over-20-usually-too-big/ (Accessed on: 1st Decmeber 2018).
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