Reducing class sizes 'doesn't work', conference told

April 26, 2007

Class size, in itself, is not a significant factor in school students' learning outcomes, according to a prominent New Zealand educationist speaking today at an international conference at the University of New England.

Professor John Hattie, from the University of Auckland, was presenting the first keynote address at UNE's "Narrowing the Gap" conference.

"Don't waste your money on reducing class sizes," Professor Hattie advised his audience, explaining that "the real issue" was "the quality of the teaching". He said he had seen exercises in class size reduction that had made no impact on learning outcomes because "the nature of the teaching didn't change".

He listed other "structural" aspects of the classroom – including the presence of disruptive students – that are often thought to have a negative impact, saying that they, too, are insignificant in comparison to teaching quality. (He pointed out that, with disruptive students, the important issue was not their presence in the classroom, but how the teacher dealt with them.) "It's the teachers we have to work with if we want to make a difference," he said.

Professor Hattie said the emphasis should be on interactive rather than "structural" aspects of the classroom, and talked about "the incredible power of feedback" – feedback that can inform teachers about the learning strategies their students are employing, and enable students to amend those strategies if they are unsuccessful.

He also deplored the lack of "a climate in school staffrooms where talking about our teaching is legitimate and safe". "If we're going to make a difference in our schools we've got to get teachers talking about teaching," he said. "The principal has to create a school where talking about teaching is safe."

Professor Hattie was speaking to about 100 delegates to the conference, which is aimed at "addressing educational disadvantage". The National Centre of Science, Information and Communication Technology, and Mathematic Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR) – based at UNE – is hosting the conference, which will continue until Saturday 28 April. It is the first conference of its kind to be held in Australia.

Dr Lorraine Graham, SiMERR's Associate Director (Student Diversity) and the convener of the conference, said: "It is increasingly important to address educational disadvantage, whether that disadvantage is due to student diversity, learning difficulties, or geographical factors. This inaugural conference will enable participants to discuss, with international experts, research on intervention programs, and initiatives targeting student diversity issues – particularly those affecting Indigenous students, gifted and talented students, and students with learning difficulties."

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Professor John Hattie and Dr Lorraine Graham.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at April 26, 2007 05:30 PM