EFFECT OF CLASSROOM SIZE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS AND TEACHING OUTPUT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Qualitative education remains the fulcrum for global development and freedom. Therefore all hands must be on deck worldwide to formulate policies that will enhance qualitative education right from elementary school to tertiary institution, and continuous, effective monitoring must be well established to check all factors that may frustrate this global pursuit. Hence, most societies require children to attend school for a specified number of years or until they reach a certain age. Many of the benefits of schooling occur in part because students learn some new knowledge or skills that enhance their ability to communicate, solve problems, and make decisions.
Academic achievement of students especially at the tertiary institution level is not only a pointer to the effectiveness or otherwise of schools but a major determinant of the future of youths in particular and the nation in general. The medium through which the attainment of individuals and the nation’s educational goals can be achieved is learning. Learning outcomes have become a phenomenon of interest to all and this accounts for the reason why scholars have been working hard to unravel factors that militate against good academic performance (Aremu&Sokan, 2009). This phenomenon has been variedly referred to in literature as academic achievement, or scholastic functioning. Academic achievement of learners has attracted attention of scholars, parents, policy –makers and planners.
In an attempt to put sound education on ground worldwide, many factors have been incriminated as being responsible for the falling standard of education where it is perceived and established. Among such factors is the issues of ‘’class size’’.Adeyemi (2008) defined class size as an educational tool that can be described as an average number of students per class in a school, while Hoffman (2002) described it as the number of students per teacher in a class. Kedney (2005) described it as a tool that can be used to measure performance of the education system. A lot of argument has gone on the impact of class size on performance, some fingering over-bloated class size as the main factor responsible for falling standard of education, most especially in the elementary or tertiary institution level of education in Nigeria, however others see this as mere coincidence seeing other factors as being responsible.
Class size is an important factor with respect to academic performance of students. There is a consensus among researchers and educational scholars that, student’s achievement decreases as class size increases. The effect of class- size on cognitive achievement has been debated and researched for many years, this has been inconclusive. Class size refers to educational tools that can be used to describe the average number of students per class in a school. In emphasizing the importance of class-size to the learning teaching process, all Nigerian Conference of Provost of tertiary institution recommended a maximum of forty students per class for efficient and effective teaching (Adeyemi 2008).
