Learner-to-Educator Ratio and Pass Rate in South Africas Primary Schools - Thesis Example

The relationship between the learner-to-educator ratio and pass rate in South Africa’s primary schools. Introduction Since the end of apartheid in South Africa thousands of students enter primary school each year and the country has made significant progress over the last ten years in improving the quality of and access to education. According to the Department of Education (2006) Education statistics net enrolment in primary education has been recorded as higher than 95 percent with over 7.3 million learners registered in 2005 and over the last eight years there has been an average annual increase in the pass rate (i.e. those who passed expressed as a proportion of those who wrote) of six percentage points. Though the number of educators has also increased but not at the rate desired to keep pace with student enrolment. Presently there are some 400,000 teachers employed in primary schools. The success of the primary school system is judged by academic performance based mainly on the level of passes in the systemic evaluations that take place in Grade 3 and 6. In 2001 the learner achievement results showed low achievement in numeracy and literacy. There are a number of determinants of academic success such as socioeconomic background of learners, learning facilities, resources, quality of the teachers and learner-to-educator ratio. In 2004 the grade 6 national systemic evaluation indicated that although a new curriculum and learning materials was developed and instituted throughout the primary school system learning achievement was still below par. A great majority of learners scored at the ‘non-achieved’ level (lower than 40% overall) with 41% in natural sciences, 38% in languages and some 27% in mathematics. Only 31% in natural sciences, 28% in languages and 12% in mathematics were functioning at or above the required grade 6 level (scores above 50%) and outstanding (scores over 70%) combined (Bulunga, Daniel, Southall, Lutchman (2006). With the increasing number of learners entering primary school and the low rate of increase of the number of educators it is prudent to note that the disparity between the two will eventually become large and its effects far reaching. As one of the determinants of academic performance the learner-to-educator ratio defined as the average number of pupils per educator at a particular level of education in a given school year becomes important to the delivery of high educational standards. There is a view amongst some researchers and educators suggesting that smaller classes has the benefit of allowing teachers to have the opportunity to devote much more time to every student in an effort to improve their rate of learning. There are also those who believe that smaller learner-to-educator ratio will lead to increased costs with no notable benefits. Research Question This proposed study will investigate the question: is learner-to-educator ratio a determinant of learner performance in South African primary schools? Rationale As students enter primary school and many teachers leave the system the learner-to-educator ratio may begin to increase. It is therefore necessary to determine whether or not an increase or decrease in the learner-to-educator ratio will impact the performance of learners so that the limited resources including educators can be adequately deployed to other areas of the system putting less pressure on the respective budgets and limited resources. Literature Review Most of the literature on learner-to-educator ratio focuses on class size in schools and interchange with the names, these will be included in this review. Studies have indicated that schools with smaller class sizes perform better academically than schools with larger class sizes. Kraft (1994) in his study of the ideal class size and its effects on effective teaching and learning in Ghana concluded that class sizes above 40 have negative effects on students’ achievement. Asiedu-Akrofi (1978) indicated that since children have differences in motivation, interests and abilities and that they also differ in heath, personal and social adjustment and creativity, generally good teaching is best done in classes with smaller numbers that allow for individual attention. Smith and Glass (1978) in their analysis of empirical studies on the relationship between class size and achievement found that small classes translated to higher achievement at all grade levels. This was so especially where students spent more than one hundred hours in these small classes, and their assignment was carefully controlled. The researchers also found the major benefits of reducing class size applied where the number of students in the class was less than twenty. These benefits also included improved students reactions, higher teacher morale, and better quality in the instructional environment. Robinson and Wittebols (1986) in a review of over a hundred research studies using a related cluster analysis approach concluded that in the primary grades reducing class size yielded some very positive effects especially for disadvantaged and minority students. The researchers noted however that these positive effects were enhanced when the instructional methods and classroom procedures used by the teachers. The Tennessee Project STAR (Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio) concerning the reduction of class size was a 4-year longitudinal study of kindergarten to third-grade classrooms in the state of Tennessee in the United States of America done between 1984 and 1988. Classes of 13-17 students with classes of 22-26 students were compared and the evidence it revealed showed that the students in the smaller classes outperformed the students in the larger classes’ class students on both standardized (Stanford Achievement Tests) and curriculum-based tests (Basic Skills First). The research also found that there were no significant differences in academic achievement for students in the larger classes. Other research analyses have concluded that class size reduction does not have any significant effect on school performance. Wenglinsky (1997) in his research on the relationship between class size and student achievement using data drawn from different national level databases to base his analysis on found that at the fourth-grade level, lower student/teacher ratios are positively related to higher mathematics achievement and at the eighth-grade level, lower student/teacher ratios improve the school social environment, which in turn leads to higher achievement. Odden (1990) in a review of existing research argued that a reduction in class size would produce only modest gains in student achievement and incur an unjustifiably high cost. Hypothesis It is hypothesized that: 1. H1: Learner-to-educator ratio does affect learner performance. 2. H0: Learner-to-educator ratio does not affect learner performance. Methodology This research plan will be undertaken using a quasi-experimental design. Participants From one school district five grade three and five grade six classes which have low learner-to-educator ratios of 20:1 will be selected and five grade three classes and five grade six classes which have high learner-to-educator ratio of 35:1 will also be selected. The high-ratio classes based are selected based on their similarity to the low-ratio classes in terms of student socioeconomic background of learners, quality of teachers, parent participation and learning facilities, variables that are related to student achievement. Sampling technique The classes will be selected randomly. Instruments The systemic evaluations tests will be used as supplied by the education department to test learner at the start of the school year. Data analysis The analysis will be done by using ANOVA. References Asiedu-Akrofi, K. (1978). School organisation in modern Africa. Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation. Department of Education (2006) Education statistics in South Africa at a glance in 2005. Pretoria: Department of Education. Viewed at: http://www.education.gov.za/EMIS/emisweb/statistics.htm Glass, Gene V., Leonard S. Cahen, Mary L. Smith, and Nikola N. Filby. 1982. School class size: Research and policy. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Kraft, R. J. (1994). Teaching and learning in Ghana. Boulder, CO: Mitchell Group Mosteller, Frederick. 1995. "The Tennessee Study of Class Size in the Early School Grades." The Future of Children 5 (2): 113-127. Odden, Allan. 1990. "Class size and student achievement: Research-based policy alternatives." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 12 (2): 213-227. Robinson, Glen E. and James H. Wittebols. 1986. Class size research: A related cluster analysis for decision-making. Arlington, VA: Education Research Service. Wenglinsky, Harold. 1997. When money matters: How educational expenditures improve student performance and how they don?t. Princeton, NJ: The Educational Testing Service, Policy Information Center. Buhlungu, Sakhela., John Daniel, Roger Southall, Jessica Lutchman (eds) 2007 State of the Nation: South Africa Cape Town HSRC Press Read More