Managing large class size and the effects on students’ performance

Large classes are unlikely to disappear given the financial pressures that most institutions face in the USA (Maringe & Sing, 2014). However, large classes are associated with challenges in delivering high-quality and equitable learning opportunities (Bligh, 2002). For example, students in large classes do not have the same opportunities to interact with the teacher compared to students in small classes (Maringe & Sing, 2014). To offer large classes without sacrificing quality of education, educators must understand how and why class sizes influence student engagement behaviors and educational outcomes.

For all class sizes, this study found student involvement as the most influential academic engagement behavior and teacher interaction as the most influential social engagement behavior for positive educational outcomes. In addition, students only perceived teacher supportiveness more positively in small classes with no differences for other engagement behaviors. In terms of educational outcomes, this research found negative effects on student satisfaction in large classes, but no differences on course grade, knowledge and communication learning outcomes in large and small classes. Despite of the mixed effects of class sizes, the study reveals that in the large classes, students may perceive a lower level of teacher interactions and satisfaction. It raises critical concerns as teacher interaction was found as the most influential driver for all subjective educational outcomes. Given that student satisfaction is a key component of student and institutional success (Santini et al., 2017), educators must develop strategies to enhance teacher interactions and satisfaction in large classes to maintain and enhance the quality of education and student success.
Practical implications

Because teacher interaction is the most influential factor for student satisfaction, business schools may consider allocating technology resources to support a more interactive learning environment in large classes. For example, the use of a student response systems (SRS), such as clickers or Poll Everywhere, has become more popular. Heaslip et al. (2014) found that students in large classes became more engaged and involved when clickers were in use. In addition, SRS enable students to have more equal opportunities to interact with the teacher easily and efficiently.

Choosing educational outcomes that accurately measures learning objectives is critical to monitor and improve education quality. Educational outcomes should reflect what the program wants the students to know and be able to do. For example, this study included a communication student learning outcome because it was assessed as part of AACSB AOL process. The results found that the communication learning outcome is associated with student participation and peer interaction. Thus, when a course focuses on communication goals, faculty should create more opportunities for student participation and peer interaction in course design. For example, in large classes, SRS allow students to participate in class discussion and also to see other students’ responses. Additionally, as peer interaction in a small class is stronger on communication outcome than that in a large class, a small class is a better choice for a course focusing on communication skills.

Different educational outcomes may involve different student learning and social behaviors in the classroom, whereas class size may not influence all these behaviors. What educational outcomes do schools expect for students? If, for example, student satisfaction is the key educational outcome, then our study suggests that large class sizes should not be used. On the other hand, if course grade is the key educational outcome, both large and small classes will work as grade differences are not related to class size.

RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

While the extant literature focuses on academic performance as the primary learning outcome, this study shifted to a “student-centered” perspective and added three measures of subjective educational outcomes – student satisfaction and the perceived SLOs for knowledge and communication skills – to transcend the usual academic performance outcomes. As schools use AOL results for continuous improvement, educators should consider a broader set of educational outcomes.

There have been tremendous changes in the modality of course delivery in higher education since the covid pandemic. Drea (2021) notes that higher education is unlikely to fully return to pre-COVID-19 course delivery models, as students have now experienced the intensive integration of technology into their courses, and this has likely reset their expectations for the future. There are a variety of course delivery formats emerging since the pandemic. Educators must understand whether a change of modality of content delivery has an impact on quality. The current study recognized the importance of both academic and social engagements in student learning. It may offer a groundwork to investigate how student engagements influent their learning outcomes in different delivery formats, such as online, hybrid, synchronous online or asynchronous online.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Because this study was conducted in a face-to-face classroom setting, the results cannot be generalized to different learning environments, such as online or hybrid. Similarly, the results are not generalizable across all types of higher education institutions because it was conducted at one university. In addition, the results are limited to introductory business courses and do not include advanced courses that require higher-order thinking and analytical skills. Finally, the sample included only undergraduate students and does not consider age as a salient factor when considering effects on classroom processes (Blatchford et al., 2009).
Conclusions

Many schools use large classes to respond to shrinking resources. This study contributes to the existing literature by showing how and why class sizes influence student engagement behaviors and educational outcomes other than academic performance. Student involvement and teacher interaction are found as influential factors on student learning outcomes and satisfaction regardless of class sizes. However, the study results indicate students perceive lower levels of teacher interaction and satisfaction in larger classes. In conclusion, to offer large classes without sacrificing quality of education, we suggest faculty creating more opportunities to encourage more student–teacher interactions, such as using SRS technologies.