INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

B.ED TESL LE 4000: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES SMALLER CLASS SIZE IN MALAYSIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

NAME: MATRIC NO.:

NORADILAH OMAR 0612036 14 MARCH 2008 MDM UMAIRAH DIAZ

SUBMISSION DATE: TUTOR:

Smaller Class Size 2

Smaller Class Size 3 Running head: SMALLER CLASS SIZE

Smaller Class Size in Malaysian Primary Schools Noradilah Omar International Islamic University Malaysia

Smaller Class Size 4 Abstract

There have been many researches on the effects of smaller class size on academic achievement in Western countries, yet such studies in Malaysia is significantly lacking. This paper studies, through library research, how reducing class size in Malaysian primary schools could boost academic achievement. Findings show that indeed, smaller class size increases academic excellence on the grounds that it increases student-teacher interaction, encourages students to become active learners and creates a suitable condition for teachers to adopt individualized pedagogy. It is hoped that this research will bring a significant change in the size of Malaysian primary school classes in order to achieve new heights of academic excellence.

Smaller Class Size 5 Smaller Class Size in Malaysian Primary Schools

The 9th Malaysia Plan in 2006 has been revealed to have allocated a whooping RM4.1 billion to improve the quality of primary school education. The allocation includes the cost for the construction of 13000 additional classrooms, of which 68 percent are in the rural areas. The government aims to reduce class size in primary schools from 31 to 30 by 2010 (Peruntukan pembangunan, 2007). This action implies that the government believes the reduction of class size affects the quality of education.

The debate on class size has been going on for decades, and multiple studies have been done by academicians in the education field. Most of these studies were done in the United States, like the Tennessee Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) project which started in 1985 and Wisconsins Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) Program 1996 (as cited in Herdberg, Lourdusamy Athputhasamy, Tan Ai-Airl & Lee, 2005).

These researches define a small class size as one having 13 to 17 students and 15 students respectively. However, the current average class size in Malaysian primary schools is 31, although numbers are higher in schools located in big cities like Kuala Lumpur and Penang where the average class size could reach as high as 40. In Malaysian context, a small class size, for the purpose of this paper, is defined as a class containing 23 to 27 students.

Smaller Class Size 6 This paper is believed to play an important role in improving the quality of education in Malaysia. As education policy-makers strive to upgrade the level of academic excellence among students in primary and secondary schools, reducing class size is seen as one of the best way to do so without overtaxing both teachers and students. As future teachers, the students of Bachelor of Education also need to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of both large and small classes, and the ways in which these classes could best be managed.

It is better to teach a small class size rather than a large one. Even in Islam, AlGhazali has stressed that the teacher must adapt his teaching to the pupil's capacity and ability, and not to overburden the pupil's capacity, nor give him fright (Ibrahim Syed, 2001). It is easier and more practical to teach according to each students standard in a smaller class size. Al-Ghazali also said, from the same article, that the teacher must respect the less gifted pupil, who might if lost, leave safe foundations for standards he would never reach, meaning that a large number of drop-out rates could be attributed to teachers teaching too fast, and students acquiring a feeling of helplessness once they are left too far behind.

Additionally, in Islamic history, education was carried out in madrassah in the structure of halqa, meaning study circle. The structure ensures a one to one relationship between the teacher and pupil and was conducive not just to the transmission of knowledge but also the radiance of the Baraka of a learned scholar (Nazeer Ahmed, n.d.). This shows

Smaller Class Size 7 that the best way to ensure transmission of knowledge was to have a close relationship with the teacher, and the best way to do that would be to reduce class size. Indeed, it is strongly believed that smaller class size increases academic excellence on the grounds that it increases student-teacher interaction, it encourages students to become active learners and it sets a suitable environment for teachers to practice individualized pedagogy.

Smaller Class Size 8 First Argument: Increases student-teacher interaction

With the reduction of class size, teachers are able to increase direct interaction with the students in lessons. According to Bohrnstedt and Stechter (2000), teachers in charge of small classes in their research spend an average of 18.1 minutes on individual students compared to the 11.4 minutes spent by teachers in larger classes. This view is shared by Blatchford, Russell, Bassett, Brown and Martin (2006), who, through observation in their research, found that there is more individual attention in small classes compared to larger ones.

One of the main reasons for this is because the teacher is able to allocate more time for each student, since less time is used for class management problems. There are fewer students to distract each other, and the noise level is lower compared to a larger class size. This enables the teacher to increase instructional time as discovered through the SAGE programme. Besides that, teachers in smaller classes can facilitate more effective student learning by assigning work and having more one-on-one interaction with students without worrying about excessive workload. They are also able to give instant and constructive feedback to the students, pointing out mistakes and giving suggestions on corrections (Finn & Wang, 2002). Krieger (2003) observed that teachers in charge of smaller classes are generally more positive, in the way that they made more positive and generally briefer comments, use more facial expressions and eye contact, and move around the room more. This means

Smaller Class Size 9 that teachers are generally more positively motivated in a smaller class size, encouraging them to interact more with the students. Teachers moving around the room indicate monitoring of students work, where they are able to facilitate and guide students in tasks and assignments. They find it easier to focus on students reception of the lesson rather than the actual presentation of the lesson, and there is more opportunity to interact with the students on a personal level.

On the other hand, the ORACLE study found that although students in larger classes receive less individual attention, the teachers make up for lack of individual interaction with increased amount of group interaction. However, it is still emphasized that individual interaction is more important, as explanations given as a group might not answer to every members questions.

Therefore, it is proven here that smaller class size does in fact increase studentteacher interaction since it reduces the time spent on classroom management, it encourages teachers to give instant feedback, it makes teachers become facilitators to students learning and it gives them more chances to interact with students on a personal level, thus propelling students towards academic achievement.

Smaller Class Size 10 Second argument: Encourages students participation

High student-teacher interaction would no doubt lead to students becoming active learners in the classroom. Active learner is defined as a learner who is involved in learning activities other than passively listening to lectures (Khairiyah Mohd Yusuf, Jamaludin Harun & Mohd Salleh Abu, n.d). Active learning can enhance learning, as learning is a naturally active process. This view is agreed by Van Amburgh, Devlin, Kirwin, and Qualters, who said that active learning has been validated as an effective way to increase student learning, and is being incorporated more in the classroom (2007).

There are lots of advantages of active learning to the students. It results in the use of information and materials while it is still being presented. If the students were to be merely listening to lectures and taking down notes, the information would not be used, but rather stored away to, if there is time, be used later. Amburgh et al emphasized on the continuum of engagement, where students are presented with multiple pathways to engage in learning that must begin with being actively engaged in the classroom (2007).

When the class size is smaller, students feel freer to voice out opinions, comments or pose questions to the teacher. This is true especially for shy students who might feel too overwhelmed to participate in larger classes. Students tend to be less motivated to participate orally in larger classes and thus feel less free to contribute, and there is also less incentive to pay attention given the anonymity available in a large number of students. Blatchford et als research findings support this opinion, saying that the systematic

Smaller Class Size 11 observation study showed that two allied behaviours were more common in large classes: times when the child is simply listening to the teacher and times when they are not singled out by the teacher; they are one of the crowd (2006).

Studies also show that students in smaller classes are more intrinsically motivated to learn compared to students in larger classes. This is because being part of a smaller group, students feel more involved in the lesson, especially when individual participation is required. The students feel that they play a significant part in the lesson, and that their contribution matters rather than merely being one in many (Finn & Wang, 2002). Starke (2007) underlines large class size as a main roadblock to active student participation, and reducing class size would mean removing this roadblock in order to increase involvement in the classroom.

We can clearly see from the above arguments that smaller class size brings about active learning, which in turn enhances students academic achievement. This is because students would be using the information as soon as it is being presented and developing longer retention span. Students would also be propelled to participate in classroom activities, motivated to learn and encouraged to contribute to the lesson.

Smaller Class Size 12 Counter Argument: Teacher Quality vs. Student Quantity

On the other side of the coin, there are researchers who disagree with small class size. They believe that however affective smaller class size can be, size is not the only factor that increases academic excellence. Critics of the Class Size Reduction programme (CSR) believe that it is teacher quality that plays a more prominent factor in uplifting academic achievement, rather than class size. One such critic is Ronald Ferguson, a lecturer at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, who said his research shows that teacher quality, not class size, is the most important factor in education. Smaller classes won't have any benefit without accompanying changes in teaching methods, Ferguson said (Mathews & Strauss, 1997).

The cost to construct more buildings and hire more teachers can also be seen as a problem. Ferguson believes that it is better to spend money on improving the quality of teacher training than to waste millions of dollars on reducing class size. Mathews and Strauss report that it would cost $7 million to lower the average class size in Montgomery, Washington, by one pupil, which is much more than the $3.5 million to increase number of qualified expertise in education (1997).

Smaller Class Size 13 Refutation: Creates a suitable condition for individualized pedagogy

There is no denying that qualified teachers and suitable teaching methods are crucial aspects of developing students academic achievement, but one cannot refute the fact that a smaller class size sustains a suitable environment for teachers to practice more effective teaching strategies and individualized pedagogy. A larger class would set a limit to the creativity of a teacher, and also to the range of activities applicable in a limited classroom space.

A reduced class size would, for one thing, provide the teachers and students with more activity space, enabling the teacher to carry out a quite a number of activities that might require physical movements. One such example is conducting role-play in English or Moral Education lessons, where students might need a certain amount of space to be used as a stage. Hopkins (1998) supports this opinion by saying that more freed-up space enables students to get more actively involved in learning. Blatchford et al (2006) agrees by saying that teachers are more flexible and adventurous in their teaching styles when class sizes are smaller.

In a class with smaller student to teacher ratio, the teachers will be able to develop a personal relationship with each student, rather than just seeing the class as a whole body. This would enable the teachers to learn the strengths and weaknesses of individual students, and find solutions to their problems. For instance, a student doing poorly in mathematics would have a higher probability of catching the teachers attention in a

Smaller Class Size 14 smaller class than a larger one. The teacher, knowing another student is good in the subject would be able to assign the good student as a buddy to the first student, allowing peer tutoring to take place. The SAGE programme reported that teachers give more individualized instructions due to the fact that they are more knowledgeable about each student (1996).

Feedback, according to Behaviorist theory, is a necessary and important part of learning. Positive and negative feedback can generate desirable responses from the students. In a smaller class size, teachers will have more free time to focus on individual students, opportunity to spot problems and give personal, constructive and meaningful responses to students rather than just a hastily scribbled seen on their homework. More important is that the feedback has to be immediate in order for the students to be able to change or amend their mistakes and avoid fossilization (Brown, 2000). Fossilization refers to a mistake that has been ingrained into the learner and would be difficult to correct.

The teaching of technical subjects, like Science, for example, would be more affective with the application of the Constructivist learning theory, which encourages students to construct their own understanding of knowledge. Unfortunately, such an abstract strategy would be catastrophic in a crowded classroom of 40 students. Reducing class size to a maximum of 25 students would enable teachers to utilize inquiry learning techniques and inductive learning strategies which require good classroom management and close monitoring of students activities. Roberts-Miller (2003) claims that the more that one engages in constructivist teaching, the more important is class size; the more that

Smaller Class Size 15 the goals and practices of a program are objectivist, the less class size matters, reinforcing that where constructivism is concerned, small class size is more ideal than a larger class size.

Smaller Class Size 16 Although the debate on class size would undoubtedly go on for some time yet, the fact remains that reducing class size would solve multiple problems in education, most of all in increasing academic performance and closing achievement gap. Even though the cost of upgrading schools and constructing classrooms might be too much for the Malaysian government to consider, it would benefit the young generation of Malaysia for many years to come. A little financial sacrifice is worth the upgrade in education, which ultimately influences the economical, social, and administration of the country.

Indeed, this research has proven that the reduction of class size in Malaysian primary schools would bring about greater excellence in academic achievement. After all, there is no question that smaller class size gives students and teachers more opportunity to communicate, propels students participation in lessons and encourages teachers to pay attention to individual needs of students.

Smaller Class Size 17 References Blatchford, P., Anthony, R., Bassett, P., Brown P., & Martin, C. (2006). The effects of class size on the teaching of pupils age 7-11 years: Implication for classroom management and pedagogy. British Journal of Educational Psychology. 81, 1536. Brown, D. H., (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed.). New York: Pearson Education. CSR Research Consortium. (2000). Class size reduction in California: The 1998-99 evaluation findings. California, U.S.: Bohrnstedt, G. W., & Stechter, B. M. Finn, J., & Wang, M. (2002). Taking small classes one step further. Information Age Pub Inc. Herdberg, J., Lourdusamy Athputhasamy, Tan Ai-Airl & Lee, L. (2005). Class size and the quality of educational experience. In Tan Ai-Girl, Cheah Horn-Mun & Chong, S (Eds.), Educational innovations (pp. 12-33). Singapore: Prentice Hall. Hopkins, G. (1998). The debate over class size part 2: The critics have their say. Education World, 25, 56-58. Ibrahim Syed. (2001). Islamic education of children. Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc. Retrieved January 12 2008 from http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_151_200/islamic_education_of_children.htm Khairiyah Mohd. Yusof., Jamaludin Harun., & Mohd Salleh Abu. (2002). Promoting active learning in Universiti Teknologi malaysia: A bottom-up, top-down

Smaller Class Size 18 approach. Retrieved January 30 2008 from

http://www.ctl.utm.my/research/pdf/ral01.pdf.

Krieger, J. (2003). Class size reduction: Implementation and solutions. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED475489. Mathews, J., & Strauss, V. (1997). Should classes be smaller? Washington Post Staff Writers Monday. Nazeer Ahmad. (2004). Seven lives of a madrassah. Islamic Research Foundation International Inc. Retrieved January 4 2008 from http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_101_150/seven_lives_of_a_madrassah.htm Peruntukan pembangunan pastikan pelan berjalan lancer. (2007, January 18). Utusan Malaysia, p. 34. Roberts-Miller, T. (n.d.). Class size in writing classes. Retrieved January 23 2008 from http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~roberts-miller/Classsize.html Van Amburgh, J.A., Devlin, Kirwin, J.L., & Qualters, D.M. (2007). A tool for measuring active learning in the classroom. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 5. Retrieved January 30 2008 from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2064883