The Effects of Increased Class size of Pupils on Teaching and Learning Methods in Public Primary Schools in Kinondoni Municipality
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of increased class size of pupils on teaching and learning methods with reference to four selected public primary schools in Kinondoni Municipality, Dar es Salaam Region. The study was mainly qualitative with some aspects of quantitative approaches. The study intended to attain three specific objectives stated, to determine the extent to which class size has increased in public primary schools, to investigate teaching methods mostly employed by teachers in public primary schools and to identify teachers’ and pupils’ views on the use of pupil-centred method of teaching and learning. The study was involved 66 respondents from four public primary schools and at municipal education office. It was a case study which was done through documentary review, semi-structured interview, questionnaires and classroom observation. The findings revealed that there were evidences of increased class size in all primary schools included in the study. The major teaching and learning methods employed mostly were lecture, while group discussion and questions and answers were rarely employed. Teachers and pupils view pupil-centred method as important in teaching and learning process because it enables pupils to understand the lesson and pupils are well involved in the process. In the light of findings it is recommended among others that the ministry of education and vocational training ought to build more classrooms which will enable to accommodate the increased number of pupils. The findings of this study show that teachers are teaching large classes of more than 90 pupils.
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