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Article: Why ‘small’ can be better: an exploration of the relationships between class size and pedagogical practices

TitleWhy ‘small’ can be better: an exploration of the relationships between class size and pedagogical practices
Authors
KeywordsSmall class size
Secondary school
Teachers’ pedagogy
Professional development
Issue Date2013
PublisherRoutledge. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/02671522.asp
Citation
Research Papers in Education, 2013, v. 28 n. 3 p. 330-345 How to Cite?
AbstractA central issue in the class size debate is that while cutting class size might lead to improved teaching and learning, it is also possible that it may not if teachers do not seek to exploit the advantages of a smaller class size through an alternative pedagogy. Research suggests that teachers do not change their pedagogy when moving from large classes to smaller ones. This paper focuses on pedagogical practices in large and reduced-size secondary school classes where the teacher is the same in both contexts; a research design that has not been employed in previous class size studies. The paper explores the relationships between class size and the pedagogical practices adopted by four experienced teachers in Hong Kong who are each responsible for one large and one reduced-size English language class of the same grade level. Drawing on mostly qualitative data, this study’s findings show that teachers did vary their teaching from one class to another with important differences noted in teacher–student interaction patterns, classroom organisation, the establishment of classroom rules and the teacher’s use of humour. At the same time, interview data reveal that teachers could not always explain or theorise their pedagogical decisions. Implications for professional practice are presented.
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/145593
ISSN
2023 Impact Factor: 2.1
2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 1.201
ISI Accession Number ID

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorHarfitt, GJen_US
dc.date.accessioned2012-02-28T01:56:26Z-
dc.date.available2012-02-28T01:56:26Z-
dc.date.issued2013en_US
dc.identifier.citationResearch Papers in Education, 2013, v. 28 n. 3 p. 330-345en_US
dc.identifier.issn0267-1522en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/145593-
dc.description.abstractA central issue in the class size debate is that while cutting class size might lead to improved teaching and learning, it is also possible that it may not if teachers do not seek to exploit the advantages of a smaller class size through an alternative pedagogy. Research suggests that teachers do not change their pedagogy when moving from large classes to smaller ones. This paper focuses on pedagogical practices in large and reduced-size secondary school classes where the teacher is the same in both contexts; a research design that has not been employed in previous class size studies. The paper explores the relationships between class size and the pedagogical practices adopted by four experienced teachers in Hong Kong who are each responsible for one large and one reduced-size English language class of the same grade level. Drawing on mostly qualitative data, this study’s findings show that teachers did vary their teaching from one class to another with important differences noted in teacher–student interaction patterns, classroom organisation, the establishment of classroom rules and the teacher’s use of humour. At the same time, interview data reveal that teachers could not always explain or theorise their pedagogical decisions. Implications for professional practice are presented.-
dc.languageengen_US
dc.publisherRoutledge. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/02671522.aspen_US
dc.relation.ispartofResearch Papers in Educationen_US
dc.rightsThis is an electronic version of an article published in Research Papers in Education, 2013, v. 28 n. 3 p. 330-345. The article is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02671522.2011.653389-
dc.subjectSmall class size-
dc.subjectSecondary school-
dc.subjectTeachers’ pedagogy-
dc.subjectProfessional development-
dc.titleWhy ‘small’ can be better: an exploration of the relationships between class size and pedagogical practicesen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.identifier.emailHarfitt, GJ: gharfitt@hkucc.hku.hken_US
dc.identifier.authorityHarfitt, GJ=rp00901en_US
dc.description.naturepostprint-
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/02671522.2011.653389-
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-84879133381-
dc.identifier.hkuros198704en_US
dc.identifier.hkuros207705-
dc.identifier.volume28-
dc.identifier.issue3-
dc.identifier.spage330en_US
dc.identifier.epage345en_US
dc.identifier.eissn1470-1146-
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000320016700004-
dc.publisher.placeUnited Kingdom-
dc.identifier.issnl0267-1522-

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