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Sunday, 6th July 2008

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Class size cuts 'costly' MSPs told



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EDUCATION experts were to warn MSPs today that reducing class sizes in schools could be costly.
However the experts believe that smaller classes could help pupils.

Members of the SCRE Centre – an educational research centre at Glasgow University – have carried out a review on the subject.

And in a paper submitted to MSPs, they said: "Smaller classes do seem to impact on pupils' attainment, especially for younger, less able children.

"However class size reduction is costly."

The paper also warns other factors, such as the quality of teaching, can have an impact.

Experts from the SCRE Centre will explain more to MSPs as they consider a petition from the teacher's union EIS calling for "significant reductions" in class sizes over the four years of this Parliament.





The full article contains 132 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 21 May 2008 10:09 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Schools in Edinburgh
 
1

Spicey,

Glasgow 21/05/2008 10:57:16
Have longer chool days instead - every pupil should be there til 5, not 3. Get them doing more activities for a start. 2 hours of sport a week? I had 2 hours almost every day when i was at school.
2

Alan B,

21/05/2008 12:18:12
#1 i agree extend the school day by 1.5hrs and use it for sporting activities.
3

Vincent-W,

21/05/2008 12:53:00
The evidence for smaller class sizes is not a proven case. There may be better ways of spending money which would benefit more people.
4

Arrow,

edinburgh 21/05/2008 13:37:36
"education experts"? more like another bunch of academics trying to justify their grant from the government. smaller classes means that the teacher can offer more teaching time per puipil which is good> no S*it Sherlock; and if the teacher is bad then this is reflected in the attainment of the pupils> wow! never thought of that! give them a PhD now and a bigger research grant.
experts at stating the obvious more like!!
5

Suomi,

Salo,Finland 21/05/2008 13:38:32
Actually Vincent, the evidence for small class sizes is pretty compelling.I have just completed a survey in Swaziland where large class sizes are the norm.These data revealed that pupils complained that noise and large class size interfered with their abilty to learn.Many pupils stated that they failed to sse any value in their education.

Since my research area is empathy,I do know that the cumulative research evidence consistently shows that an empathised awareness of a pupils struggle to learn is pivotal in an ability to learn.It has been shown over several decades that empathy is the primary ingredient in helping relationships.For example Aspey (1965) found that in classes where teachers empathy was highest,the pupils showed significant gains in reading gains.These findings were consistent with an enlarged study that extended for more than a decade.Accurate empathy is dependent upon having a relationship with a pupil.Teachers in Swaziland reported that large class size reduced any opportunity of having a relationship with any individual student.No single study is conclusive but claims that class size do not matter is not congruent with the cumulative research evidence.The Scottish government may have limited ability to utilise Scotlands money,but they are absolutely correct to try and reduce classroom size
6

James (1),

21/05/2008 16:49:09
#5 Did children not speaking the local language have an impact on learning?
Too much time wasted trying to teach basics to non English speaking children. Parents of non English speaking children should be made to contribute towards the cost of teaching them English. That way extra teachers actually teaching English could be funded instead to diluting the time given to a class.
7

Suomi,

Salo,Finland 21/05/2008 17:18:12
In response to James(1) all children in my sample spoke the local language.The sample comprised over 400 pupils in 5 schools in Mbabane,Swaziland.The findings revealed that large class sizes had a negative impact on learning outcomes and attitudes to education.

These findings are congruent with 5 decades of research which show that an empathic relationship with a pupil is a core element in understanding the pupils learning needs and learning style.One barrier to knowing a pupil in that way is large class size.Of course,language can be a barrier to communicating. It is the same here in Finland if chidren cannot speak Finnish I have no opinion about who should pay for langauge classes for imigrant children who do not possess language skills.All I will say is that in Finland,all education is free,even for foreigners.
8

Vincent-W,

22/05/2008 09:17:43
suomi - what class sizes are you referring to, and at what point (number) do the benefits appear?

What I am saying is based on anecdotal evidence from scottish ps teachers, special needs teachers and support staff. Many of whom say there are other priorities on a limited purse which would benefit more children, also many observe that there are issues with some children in small classes whose learning styles do not suit smaller class size.

Also I would expect able teachers to establish good levels of empathy with 25 pupil classes.

 

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