The number of students in a class could affect how much is learned, how interactive the professor could be and so on.
I would like you to let us know your opinion about the ideal number of students in a class (Higher Education).
Moreover, it could ve quite interesting if you tell us about your experiences and the situation in your university, your country, ...
Such number of students is really an optimal one, as suggested by @Andras. That number is decreased when we are taking about the LAB. Every University must have detailed standards for, which are approved by accreditation commission.
In practice, such proposed number of students are not followed. Groups of students have been merged! There is no valid control!
Dear Jesus,
I think the optimal number of students in practical classes (seminars) must be about 10 and 15 depending on the nature of the subject. I think in the medicinal training (anatomy) should be the least the number of students.
Such number of students is really an optimal one, as suggested by @Andras. That number is decreased when we are taking about the LAB. Every University must have detailed standards for, which are approved by accreditation commission.
In practice, such proposed number of students are not followed. Groups of students have been merged! There is no valid control!
Dear Jesus,
Optimal number of students for seminar classes is, as @Andras mentioned, 10 -15 students, for tutorials (practical classes) would be optimally also 15 but reality is facing us with 25 students. Laboratory - 8 students. The number of students participating in lectures depends on the type of the lecture. Classic problem based lecture can be participated by the large group of participants - 100 but in case of conversatory lecture I prefer smaller groups up to 50.
As has been said by our friends, the number of students should somehow be inversely proportional to the specialization of the course. In other words, the more a course is generic, the more students can participate, but when you go to a further specialization you must necessarily decrease the number to allow a greater interrelation with the teacher. This is what usually occurs by natural selection.
There is no ideal number for all classes. The number of students in each class depends on many factors:
- Course subject
- Faculty and specialization
- Theoreotical, practical, or application
-Undergraduate or Graduate studies
Dear Ljubomir,
Yes, you are right. There are approved standards. However, this is but a theory. Facilities do decide. I will have classes in 2 hours in a room where even my seat will be offered for a student and I have but very few place for my pencil and notes.
In Italy the number of students in each University course is set by the Ministry on a national basis according to general criteria. At the beginning of the academic year a selection is made of the students who enroll in the first year through a series of tests. If enrollments are numerous so not all students have the opportunity to attend the graduation. This allows, at the beginning of each course, teachers to know how many students will be in the first year, and if the facilities (space, seating and communication systems) are suitable for the purpose. Further on, obviously, in the second third year and so on, there is always some "mortality" of students, but in the end (the degree) the final number that comes is almost always the same. Another case is true for the doctorate. We have two types of doctorate, one with "borsa" (money) and the other not. In general, now two doctorates with "borsa" generate a doctorate without. The number of posts here does not depend on the skill of the people but by the availability of money.
If the students per class ware e.g. 30, that would be a miraculous! Usually in first and second year classes of an students number more than 100! Under the circumstances we do not expect any better!
Ideal number should not exceed 10-15. The reality varies depending on colleges, specialized field, and private vs. government universities. For example, in SQU the number is small since most students have a scholarship from the government. In jordan university the number of students in a class depends on the classrooms size ranging from 50 to 150 students.
My HE experience was perfectly described by Dr. Beata ;)... especially lab work for Biology courses, 8 was the max during my time, and its just perfect. In the final year, there was only 4 of us, the others went to different specialisations.
We generally have a large number till graduation which reduces to 4 till postgraduation
In Tamilnadu Universities for Under graduate Science programmes the class strength is 45. The strength is limited as per the laboratory (facility) specifications of the universities.
For undergraduate core Engineering programmes (Civil / Mechanical / Electrical / Electronics) the class strength is 60, as per University allocations during counseling in the first year.
Also, I agree with the number in practical class must below 15 students ,, about my classes only 30 students each subject.
The number of classes in classroom may affect the students` educational outcomes.
“The difficulties in assessing the causal influence of class size on
student outcomes, such as achievement, are (1) class size itself is often not directly observed but rather proxied by pupil-teacher ratios at the state, district, or school level, (2) many data sets used to analyze this question are cross-sectional and thus do not allow one to control for fixed student, teacher, class, or school effects, and (3) class size itself may be endogenous in a student outcome equation. Nonetheless, the general consensus among researchers examining this issue is that if
class size matters at all its influence is most pronounced at the lowest grade levels”.
For more information on the subject, look in the following link:
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1145&context=workingpapers
In my opinion, ideal is small group,10-15 in graduate level and 30 in undergraduate level but in my university in undergraduate classes I have two groups, each 50 students and in graduate level 25 students.
Dear Kamal,
Sometimes even dreams can become true! We can say we are able to dream and wish often even work and create a bit.
Changes to the class size can be considered as a potential means of changing how much students learn. Not only is class size potentially one of the key variables in the “production” of learning or knowledge, it is one of the variables for policymakers to manipulate.
The amount collected of student learning depends on many different factors. Some factors are due to the classroom and school environment in which the class takes place, but others are related to the student’s own background and motivation.
About 20-25 students per class is a typical number in Greece.
Primary Class Strength
- Primary is the number of pupils enrolled in primary school divided by the number of primary school teachers.
- Considering One Class Teacher per class
India has 35 students per class in primary
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.ENRL.TC.ZS
Dear @Krishnan, I think that World Bank data on Pupil-Teacher Ratio are not reliable and accurate! It is mentioned that for Serbia the number of pupils in class is 16, but in reality, this number is around 30! Thanks for the source!
@ Ljubomir
I have not validated other results, the data was exhaustive, as you say (doubt) chances are there, may be prone for mistakes too.
But in India the primary is almost around that number of 35-40 per class.
Don't you find that 35-40 pupils per class is too much! What is the problem in India to decrease this number?
Dear Ljubomir,
We can recognise the good side of this high number: there are a lot of young men wanting to study!
Unfortunately, the number of students at agricultural faculties has dropped deeply in recent years in Hungary.
Dear @Andras, I am afraid that primary education is obligation! How many of them will want to study after high school!?
I share your experience about drop in agriculture. Same is here, as it is the case with mechanical engineering, food technology....! Bad trend!
@ Ljubomir
The Indian Population is second in the World,
One of the primary class in a government school ... link
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/lessons-from-across-the-world/article4526709.ece
School Drop outs in India
It is interesting to look at the composition of out-of-school children in the 5-14 age group, in terms of the proportions who are “never enrolled” and “enrolled but currently not attending school (dropouts)” respectively. If dropout rates are actually quite low, as argued above, the possibility arises that a substantial proportion of out-of-school children are “never enrolled” rather than dropouts, contrary to what is often assumed.
USHA JAYACHANDRAN (2007), How High Are Dropout Rates in India?, Economic and Political Weekly March 17, 2007
Mostly the number of students in the class depends on several factors, including the age of group , but generally the appropriate number in each class is between 15-20.
Dear @Krishnan, something changes: School dropouts in India on decline according to UN report.
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/2015-01-22/No-of-school-dropouts-declining-in-India-UN-127213
@ Ljubomir
Generalised the trend is dropping down... The status dropout rate decreased from 12 percent in 1990 to 7 percent in 2012, with most of the decline occurring since 2000. The number of years of school that high school dropouts completed increased from 1990 to 2012. The percentage of dropouts with less than 9 years of schooling accounted for 18 percent of status dropouts in 2012, compared with 29 percent in 1990.
However in reality, the impact on each state is different, population is huge and economic development is dispersed.
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_coj.asp
I think the maximum should be up to 30 students. There are however "realities" that this number can not be attained! In Greece due to shortage of teachers and classrooms the number goes to 100 or more! So the number of students depends on many parameters!
Class size continues to be at the forefront of the educational and political agenda for schools, school districts,school boards, education policy makers, parents and other stakeholders. Indeed, class size is a factor that may influence parents’ choice of a school over another. Smaller class sizes are generally perceived as allowing teachers to spend more time with each student and less time in classroom management, thereby providing better instruction tailored to the students’ individual needs, and ensuring higher performance. In this respect, class size may be viewed as an indicator of the quality of a school system.
Crowded University classrooms are matter of finance, especially for Government owned Institutions in non developed and developing countries!
The number of students per class depends on the Country specific conditions, but we can say in independent situations, 13 students is ideal for diagnostic, for didactics, etc...
Dear colleague,
My suggestion on student ratio is depend upon the availability of faculty ratio is followed many institutions. a class size of no more than 25 students per teacher is required to give the lecture the valuable feed gain the faculty on teaching.
Good Luck
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Psychology
- Mental Processes
- Learning