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- Publisher Website: 10.1080/02671522.2011.653389
- Scopus: eid_2-s2.0-84879133381
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Article: Why ‘small’ can be better: an exploration of the relationships between class size and pedagogical practices
Title | Why ‘small’ can be better: an exploration of the relationships between class size and pedagogical practices |
---|---|
Authors | |
Keywords | Small class size Secondary school Teachers’ pedagogy Professional development |
Issue Date | 2013 |
Publisher | Routledge. 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? |
Abstract | A 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 Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/145593 |
ISSN | 2023 Impact Factor: 2.1 2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 1.201 |
ISI Accession Number ID |
DC Field | Value | Language |
---|---|---|
dc.contributor.author | Harfitt, GJ | en_US |
dc.date.accessioned | 2012-02-28T01:56:26Z | - |
dc.date.available | 2012-02-28T01:56:26Z | - |
dc.date.issued | 2013 | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | Research Papers in Education, 2013, v. 28 n. 3 p. 330-345 | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 0267-1522 | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/145593 | - |
dc.description.abstract | A 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.language | eng | en_US |
dc.publisher | Routledge. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/02671522.asp | en_US |
dc.relation.ispartof | Research Papers in Education | en_US |
dc.rights | This 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.subject | Small class size | - |
dc.subject | Secondary school | - |
dc.subject | Teachers’ pedagogy | - |
dc.subject | Professional development | - |
dc.title | Why ‘small’ can be better: an exploration of the relationships between class size and pedagogical practices | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.identifier.email | Harfitt, GJ: gharfitt@hkucc.hku.hk | en_US |
dc.identifier.authority | Harfitt, GJ=rp00901 | en_US |
dc.description.nature | postprint | - |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1080/02671522.2011.653389 | - |
dc.identifier.scopus | eid_2-s2.0-84879133381 | - |
dc.identifier.hkuros | 198704 | en_US |
dc.identifier.hkuros | 207705 | - |
dc.identifier.volume | 28 | - |
dc.identifier.issue | 3 | - |
dc.identifier.spage | 330 | en_US |
dc.identifier.epage | 345 | en_US |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1470-1146 | - |
dc.identifier.isi | WOS:000320016700004 | - |
dc.publisher.place | United Kingdom | - |
dc.identifier.issnl | 0267-1522 | - |