Class size and learner outcomes in South African schools: The role of school socioeconomic status

Köhler, Timothy

doi:10.1080/0376835x.2020.1845614

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Both studies used Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model and found no significant evidence supporting the proposal that minor classes perform better. In this vein, an Africa study with a total 8,626 schools, used the OLS model, but did not find evidence to claim that the class size influences achievement [ 43 , 44 , 45 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An analysis of student numbers per class and educational performance in the Brazilian context

Gonçalves¹,

Prearo²,

Miranda³

et al. 2023

Heliyon

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An analysis of student numbers per class and educational performance in the Brazilian context

Gonçalves¹,

Prearo²,

Miranda³

et al. 2023

Heliyon

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“…Morro had a class size of only seven students, and some studies suggest that smaller class sizes facilitate improved learning (Altinok & Kingdon, 2012; Fogarty, 2012). However, other research suggests that class size alone is not sufficient to affect learning outcomes but that a mixture of socio-economic factors is important (Hattie, 2005; Köhler, 2022). Additionally, the effect of School could relate to the location of a school rather than the school itself.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental education in the classroom: pilot study in Cabo Verde suggests differing impacts on local knowledge and environmental attitudes

Rice,

Hejmadi,

Silva

et al. 2023

Oryx

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To execute environmental education effectively, the success and impacts of educational activities must be assessed. In areas of high biodiversity there is generally a lack of evaluation of the impact of environmental education. In this study we investigate the effect of a one-time classroom activity on student knowledge of local environmental issues, environmental attitudes and aspirations. The project was conducted on the island of Maio, Cabo Verde, a small, highly biodiverse island, as part of a classroom visit programme with the local environmental organization, Maio Biodiversity Foundation. We visited every fourth-grade class (i.e. students with an age range of 9–10 years) on the island (a total of 142 students) and delivered a half-day classroom activity. The results show that this activity did not influence environmental attitudes; however, it did significantly improve student knowledge and awareness of local environmental issues. This study shows that environmental education should not be assumed to improve attitudes and knowledge but requires individual evaluation for each type of activity. For environmental education to reach its full potential, activities should be planned in response to evaluation results.

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“…African context, according to research, generally larger class sizes result in poor educational outcomes (Köhler 2020). Schäfer suggests that the education situation is not conducive to offering all students a quality education, which should be the top priority (Mlambo & Adetiba 2020;Schäfer 2020a).…”

Section: Overcrowdingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequalities in the Cape Flats: Principals’ perspectives on children’s schooling

Christian,

Stambach

2024

South African Journal of Childhood Education

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Background: A separate, apartheid system of schooling in South Africa entrenched European racialised ideologies of white supremacy that left a legacy of social, economic, and educational inequalities. The 1995 White Paper for Education, the 1996 South African Schools Act, and the Revised National Curriculum Statement outlined steps for equalising education. However, inequalities within the schooling system remain.Aim: The study aimed to understand how principals experience the lasting effects of apartheid-era segregationist policies in primary schools and to document principals’ solutions.Setting: A meeting of principals who work at primary schools in the Western Cape province.Methods: Researchers purposively sampled four principals from the primary schools represented at the meeting, conducted semi-structured interviews with the principals chosen, and adopted an interpretive approach to analyse findings.Results: This study finds from principals’ perspectives that neighbourhood gang violence, and highly unequal funding for schools in different neighbourhoods adversely impact primary school children’s education and principals’ abilities to lead as a result of context, overcrowding and inequality. Principals note that when parent-led programmes such as the Walking Bus produce a positive effect, the government tends to undercut parents’ efforts to work with principals to secure and equalise young children’s schooling.Conclusion: Giving greater governance power to parents and principals may help to equalise the extremes of inequalities in primary schools remaining from Nationalist Party policies of the pre-1994 apartheid era.Contribution: This study contributes to primary school principals’ ideas for improving primary schoolchildren’s education.

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Class size and learner outcomes in South African schools: The role of school socioeconomic status

Cited by 12 publications

References 17 publications

An analysis of student numbers per class and educational performance in the Brazilian context

An analysis of student numbers per class and educational performance in the Brazilian context

Environmental education in the classroom: pilot study in Cabo Verde suggests differing impacts on local knowledge and environmental attitudes

Inequalities in the Cape Flats: Principals’ perspectives on children’s schooling

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