The paradox of reducing class size and improving learning outcomes

Hattie, John

doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2006.07.002

Cited by 168 publications

(131 citation statements)

References 102 publications

(103 reference statements)

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“…Of these positions only 16% of the teachers had appropriate qualifications. This is consistent with results of injecting of funds into a Californian program to improve literacy by reducing class sizes -the additional staff recruited were inexperienced or lacking the appropriate qualifications and lowered the average teacher quality so the desired outcomes were not achieved (Hattie, 2005).…”

Section: Australian Retention Performancesupporting

confidence: 77%

Timely Intervention – Before It’s Too Hard

Clarke¹

2012

Reflections on Learning, Life and Work

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Students who have difficulty conforming to school rules and expected school behavioural norms are at risk of being excluded from their own schools, and possibly from further education. Failure to complete twelve years of schooling places the students at a social and economic disadvantage for the rest of their lives.Intervention programs attempt to address students' behavioural and social issues and assist them to maintain their connection with education. This thesis examines an intervention program in Melbourne, Australia which is staffed by special education teachers and located away from the home schools of the students.Inappropriate student behaviours were identified from a review of the intervention unit's historical records. These behaviours were then compared and aligned with earlier analyses of difficult behaviours, in particular the categories from the Achenbach Child Behaviour Check List.Quantitative analysis methods were used to validate the Behaviour Rating Scale that was developed to measure pre and post intervention behaviour. The Behaviour Rating Scale outcomes were used in conjunction with a Sessional Evaluation Measure (SEM) to assess the effectiveness of the off-site intervention program.The thesis concludes with a model identifying key elements of effective intervention programs based on both investigations undertaken and the literature reviewed.iv

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Section: Australian Retention Performancesupporting

confidence: 77%

Timely Intervention – Before It’s Too Hard

Clarke¹

2012

Reflections on Learning, Life and Work

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“…Many researchers believe that large classes offer few opportunities to teachers to employ quality teaching and learning environment for learners (Blatchford et al, 2002;Hattie, 2005;Pedder, 2006). Zhang (2002) examined the effect of large classes among college students and proposed that problems are one of three or all.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Large Classes on English Teaching and Learning in Saudi Secondary Schools

Bahanshal¹

2013

ELT

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The effect of class size on teaching and learning English as a foreign language (EFL) has been through a contentious debate among researchers for a long time. Before the 1950's the concern about the effect of class size and the learning outcomes of students in such classes waned for some time. Yet, researchers have reconsidered the case once again and up to now it is a field of investigation. Therefore, through reviewing the existing literature on this area and examples culled from the teachers' experience, the aim of the present study are twofold:(1) to ascertain the impact of large classes on the teaching and learning outcomes, and (2) to suggest appropriate strategies Saudi secondary teachers can utilize in their large classes to facilitate English teaching and learning. To reach the aim of this study, six Saudi English teachers from two public schools were interviewed to express their perceptions about teaching in large classes. Research results present that all participants find it daunting to teach large classes. Teachers also comment that despite their efforts to elevate the level of language learning in such context, the outcome of their students is considered to be unsatisfactory. They believe that this can be contributed to the fact that there are big numbers of students in one class and wish for the number to be reduced. The study findings shed the light on some useful and effective methods to be applied in large classes which may facilitate the language teaching and learning.

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“…Teachers generally believe that they can improve student achievement if the size of classes is reduced, but numerous studies have shown that the positive effect is 4 usually small [Hattie, 2005]. Given the enormous cost of reducing class size, Hattie [2005] argues that reductions in class size are much less cost-effective than other policies as a means of raising student achievement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%