Research attempts to determine which variables in schools and classrooms promote effective learning experiences for children. (JF)

A common criticism of merit-pay plans is that they fail to systematically target rewards to the most effective teachers. This study presents new evidence on this issue by evaluating data from Tennessee's Career Ladder Evaluation System and the Project STAR class-size experiment. Because the students and teachers participating in the experiment…

This paper seeks to obtain the views of student teachers in Northern Ireland as to the benefits and challenges of inclusive education and the key issues that may need to be addressed to ensure they become effective teachers in an inclusive classroom. Because of the system of academic selection that has prevailed in Northern Ireland, issues…

A behavioral study guide in the teaching of American literature at Henderson State University is presented that can help an instructor counter the trend of large class size and breadth of material covered. Focus is on developing analytic skills, clear thinking, and effective writing. (LBH)

Argues that declines in the relative quality of teachers, reductions in class size, and growth in per-pupil spending can all be traced to one source-growing demand for skilled workers outside education. (Author/PKP)

The relationship between class size and student evaluation of university teaching quality was analyzed. Data from 2915 university classrooms were collected in classes ranging from 1 to 234 students. Results indicate that there is a weak relationship between class size and student ratings of teaching quality, and that this is a nonlinear…

Analysis of how class size may affect student ratings of teaching presentation strongly supported the conclusions that: (1) there is only a weak relationship between class size and student ratings; and (2) the relationship is nonlinear in nature. (EV)

The London Challenge is a Department for Education and Skills (DfES) initiative, which aims to raise levels of attainment in London secondary schools and to create a world class education system in the capital. In 2005, London Challenge commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to carry out a survey of Year 7 pupils,…

Student course evaluations were completed by 1,457 students in 43 Child and Family Development courses. The impact of six predictor variables (class meeting time, class size, expected grade, perceived fairness of grading procedures, pre-course interest in the subject, and post-course interest in the subject) on student ratings of instructors was…

Teachers may be the most important element of an effective school, but does that mean that K-12 improvement must wait on the ability of schools or systems to recruit, nurture, and retain outstanding teachers? Such a strategy implies that widespread excellence hinges on the ability of publicly funded school systems to attract more than 3.3 million…

Increases in the school-age population, maximum class size requirements in various states and the No Child Left Behind Act's mandate of a "highly qualified teacher" in every classroom collectively will increase the demand for teachers. However, public school teachers are exiting the profession in large numbers. This poses a serious…

An exploratory analysis of four large educational data sets found evidence of schools and districts that consistently produced outstanding students, even after socioeconomic factors were controlled for. Outstanding Michigan schools had smaller classes, better-paid teachers, and more teachers with greater than five years experience. (Author)

This investigation of class size and student evaluations of faculty is based on data for over 4,000 college and university classes on 16 campuses across the country. The data reveal a surprising but definite curvilinear relationship between class size and teacher ratings. (Editor)

Discussions and research of class size would be more useful if they dealt with some of the significant relationships that exist between a resource allocation plan (more teachers for smaller classes) and the social processes that constitute the environment of these smaller classes. (Author/MLF)

Cites the literature comparing the effectiveness of large-class vs. small-class instruction and offers suggestions for handling large enrollment classes. (AEA)