Benefits of Smaller Class Sizes

In the mid-1980s, reports began to surface about the failures of American public education. Since that time, educational experts and the general public have sought answers to the problem. There were two general motives for seeking answers to the problem. One focus was on searching for ways to improve the quality of educational output. A second focus was on finding convenient scapegoats to take the blame for educational failure. One of the factors that surfaced in these searches was class size. The term "class" refers to an individual school classroom. The term "size" refers to the number of students in a classroom.

The class size factor served each group of searchers equally well. For those people seeking to improve educational performance, it appeared obvious that a lower student-teacher ratio would equate to higher performance. For people seeking a scapegoat, high student-teacher ratios were a godsend. The high ratios absolved both teachers and students from responsibility for poor performance.

Problems arose, however, in implementing policies mandating smaller student-teacher ratios. The first major problem was cost. Reducing student-teacher ratios required more classrooms and more teachers. To justify the expense of such a policy, it was necessary to have evidence of the validity of the concept in practice. The findings of research studies investigating the impact of class size on educational performance tended to be mixed. While most studies found s

Related Essays

Benefits of Smaller Class Size .... mixed. While most studies found some benefits from smaller class sizes, there were important exceptions (Heise, 2002). Further, even .... (1753 7 )

Class Size and Educational Failure .... mixed. While most studies found some benefits from smaller class sizes, there were important exceptions (Heise, 2002). Further, even .... (1757 7 )

School Vouchers and New Forms of Schools .... more diversity, have more interaction with teachers (due to smaller class sizes and lower .... magnet schools, and charter schools have many benefits outside the .... (728 3 )

Guide to Educating Children .... Now, despite evidence on the benefits of smaller class sizes, administrators are unwilling to change what became established by default, even though it clearly .... (2976 12 )

Classroom Downsizing in California .... mixed. While most studies found some benefits from smaller class sizes, there were important exceptions (Heise, 2002). Further, even .... (9254 37 )

ifferent grade levels with respect to participation or non-participation in class-size reduction programs? Definition of Terms Class A individual classroom of students Class-size reduction program A funded program to reduce student-teacher ratios to 20:1 Educational performance Student academic performance Participation/non-participation Participation or non-participation in a class-size reduction program, Size The number of students in a class Student-teacher ratio The number of students per teacher in a class Theoretical Framework System theory states that the system must be viewed as a whole that intends to maintain its status, to understand that simply changing one of its parts may be ineffective (von Bertalanffy, 1956). Therefore, the effort to improve educational performance by students tends to be impeded by a system that has become entrenched. This existing system is an interlocking structure of players (educational, political, interest groups, and so forth) that has developed rules and processes with which they are comfortable and which they are reluctant to change. The existing system for educating students is not satisfactory for all students, although so

Category: Psychology - B