Effects of Large Classroom Size on Effective Teaching and Learning in Junior Secondary Schools in Gwagwalada Area Council, Fct, Abuja

ABSTRACT The study was carried out to investigate the effects of large class size on effective teaching and learning of junior secondary schools in Gwagwalada Area Council, FCT Abuja. The design of the study was descriptive while the population comprised of all the junior secondary school students in the target area. The sample size for the study was 250 respondents while the instrument for data collection. Four research questions guided the study. A review of empirical studies was carried out. A 23-item questionnaire was used to get information from the respondents. Based on the data collected and analyzed, the following results were obtained. That large class size affects effective teaching and learning among the junior secondary school students in Gwagwalada Area Council. It further revealed that feelings of discomfort, overcrowding and lack of space, interruptions and distractions, poor ventilation and high temperatures, and exudation of unpleasant unhygienic odours are the problems of large class size which affect effective teaching and learning among junior secondary school students in Gwagwalada Area Council. Finally, the findings revealed that few numbers of schools, excess admission entries, poor provision of class-room infrastructures by government, bad use including damaging of available classroom facilities, and poor management of school facilities are the causes of large class size in junior secondary schools in Gwagwalada Area Council. Based on the above, the researcher recommends that government should build more ultra-modern schools to augment the few available ones and rescue the population of school going children in the society. Also, it was recommended that school administrators should ensure proper maintenance of available educational facilities in the schools, students should display positive behaviour and right attitude to learning in the large classroom, teachers should adoption better teaching method in a large class size, and that teachers should adopt good classroom management skill in a large class size.