Does class size really matter in Education?

Does class size really matter in Education?
     

           Class sizes is a topic that everyone that deals with education had to talk about all the time. On one side, there are a lot of people who feel strongly about reducing class size. Achilles and Finn (2000) said ‘Class size [reductions] should not just be a cornerstone, but the foundation of educational policy for early education’. But there are many people on the other hand that there are many reasons why we should keep class sizes the same and not reduce them.
           More people think class sizes should be reduced to help children’s learning. One strategy used to reduce class size is that in Wales £36 million is being spent on reducing class sizes. This therefore means class sizes does matter because if it did not matter the Welsh Government would not spend this much money on trying to solve this. This money is invested in trying to reduce this over the next few weeks up to 2021. “There is a positive connection between smaller classes and attainment, particularly for pupils from poorer backgrounds.  This is most significant for younger children, which is why we are targeting this investment at infant class sizes. This announcement, linked to our other reforms, will create the space for teachers to teach and for pupils to learn.” (Kirsty Williams, 2017)

Private schools are becoming more and more popular with parents and children nowadays. With private school’s parents can pay around £15,000 - £25,000 a year for their child to attend. Normally with private schools the class sizes are smaller so this technically means parents are paying for smaller class sizes. In HMC (headmasters’ and headmistresses’ Conference) schools which is one type of private school, they have some of the lowest student to staff ratios in the UK school, one teacher for every 9 pupils compared with one teacher for every 22 pupils in the state sector. (HMC, 2018)

One of the benefits of having a smaller class size is that is it easier to keep track of pupil’s progress in order to challenge their learning. This will also help with noticing quicker if children have any SENs. “What could be more obvious: fewer pupils in a class is surely better for the pupils and for the teacher?” (Blatchford, 2012, p. 57)

Also with smaller class sizes because there are less people in a class, it is easier for teachers to mark the children’s work therefore if there is less stuff to mark, the teachers have to spend less time marking, this then means they have more time to help the children if they are struggling with anything or need any help with anything. Because there is less paper work eg. Marking and report there is more time that can be spent creating engaging and challenging students to their full potential. Also with less children in classes this then means they teacher has more one on one time with each student, this also helps the students with any problems they have either at home or in school.            

Some smaller schools would merge year groups together into one class to make the class size bigger and it also means they only have to hire one teacher, so this is a problem if they decide to make class sizes smaller there is a chance of two class possibly being merged into one class if the school doesn’t have enough funds.
            The Scottish government have placed a cap of 25 pupils to a class (Blatchford, 2012) This being done shows us that it is not only Wales or even just the UK that are trying to reduce class sizes but it is all around the world, class size reduction schemes are being brought in all around the world such as East Asia, US, the Netherlands and Canada.
            On the other hand, it is very expensive to make class sizes smaller, the money being pumped into making class sizes smaller could be used in improving other things to do with education. The £36 million Wales is spending on reducing class size could be used to improve technology in schools as technology nowadays is becoming more and more used within school and at home. They could also put the money into upgrading either science equipment or investing in new books for the library or even outside equipment to help with outdoor learning as it is getting more and more prominent in education.
            Also, if you cut class sizes you need to hire more teachers. Therefore, each school needs more money to hire more teachers to help try reducing class sizes. This is a problem because even though in Wales the Welsh Government has put in £36 million into reducing class sizes there are 1,261 primary schools in Wales in 2018 (Welsh Government, 2018) This means each school £28,548.77 per school which means they could only hire one teacher per each school which means they would only be reducing the size of one class in every school in Wales. This money could also be used instead of hiring new teachers but on training new teachers to be the most skilled and qualified teachers in the UK or even further afield.
            While many people believe if you have less students in a class you would make more progress but there is actually no proof that states that reducing class size improves students learning and grades. One of the biggest indicators that shows us that you do not need a smaller class size to be more educated than people that are in smaller class sizes is the PISA results. The top performing country in the world for all three subjects (maths, science and reading) is Singapore. (OECD, 2015) PISA stands for the Programme for International Students Assessment which “which accesses the extent to which 15-year-old students, near the end of their compulsory education, have acquired key knowledge and skills that are essential for a full participation in modern societies.” (OECD, 2015) The OECD see little effect from smaller class sizes as the countries that scored the best in the PISA all have the biggest class sizes of 40+ pupils per class.

            "The quality of the teacher is more important than class size. It is better to have a class of 28 -30 pupils with a good teacher than a class of 22-24 pupils with a mediocre teacher." (Dobbelsteen, 2002) This is very important as there could be one teacher with small class of 10 really badly behaved and they not be able to handle them but there could of a teacher with a big class size of 30+ students of really badly-behaved student and the teacher might be a really high-quality teacher and be able to handle and control of the children. “Get more students in front of top teachers by identifying the top 25 percent of teachers and asking them to take on four or five more students. Part of the savings could then be used to give the top teachers a raise. (In a 2008 survey funded by the Gates Foundation, 83 percent of teachers said they would be happy to teach more students for more pay.) The rest of the savings could go toward improving teacher support and evaluation systems, to help more teachers become great.” (Bill Gates, 2011) Bill Gates (2011) also stated reducing the teacher-student ratio means adding more teachers, most of whom will probably be mediocre. Retaining only excellent teachers means hiring fewer teachers, which means raising the teacher-student ratio and increasing class sizes. The countries at the top of the Pisa tables spend their money in other places mostly on their teachers. They prioritise spending money on better quality teachers – for example by offering competitive salaries, investing in professional development and managing teacher workload – rather than on making classrooms smaller.

          The Hattie research shows us that in reducing class sizes is considered small and it is not worth all the money needed that is required to reduce the number of children per class. “It appears that the effects of reducing class size may be higher on teacher and student work related conditions, which may or may not translate into effects on student learning. There is a different concept of excellent teaching in larger classes than when teaching smaller classes of 25-30…for classes of 80 or more students (University) it is probably necessary to assume that individual students are self-regulated to learn; the major task of the teacher is to deliver content more chalk and talk lessons no toleration of deviant behaviour”. (Hattie, 2009, p.122)

In conclusion on one side it would be good for children to be in smaller class size as they would get more one on one time with the teacher which could positively affect their education but there are more reasons why to keep class sizes the same sizes. As there is not enough money to reduce the class sizes of every class in every primary school in the world. Also, most international test in the world also proves that bigger class sizes still perform in the three subjects the best in the world.

             

References

·      Achilles, C.M. and Finn, J.D. (2000) Should class size be the cornerstone for educational policy? How Small Classes Help Teachers Do their Best. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Centre for Research in Human Development.

·      Bill Gates Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2011) How teacher development could revolutionize our schools. The Washington Post Company.

·      Blatchford, P. (2012) ‘Class size: is small better?’, Bad Education: Debunking myths in Education.

·      Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London: Routledge.

·      Kirsty Williams Welsh Government (2017) New £36m fund to reduce infant class sizes and raise standards announced by Kirsty Williams. Wales. Welsh Government.

·      OECD (2015) PISA. Technical Report, OECD Publishing, Paris.

·      The Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (2018) Smaller Class Sizes. https://www.hmc.org.uk/about-hmc/why-choose-a-hmc-school/smaller-class-sizes/ (Accessed: 30^th November 2018)

·      Welsh Government (2018) School Census Results. Wales. Welsh Government.