Are Small Class Sizes a Sign of a Good School?

Are smaller class sizes a key to determining a good school? Not according to the latest research by the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which released its annual report on education yesterday.

Collecting data from primary, lower secondary, secondary and tertiary education in both the private and public sectors, the report highlights the effects of class size and student to teaching staff ratio across 34 countries. Its conclusion: Class size by itself has limited impact on quality of teaching. According to the report, smaller classes are only really beneficial for children from disadvantaged backgrounds..

The report notes that smaller classes can lead to an increase in "innovative" teaching practices. Clearly the smaller the class size the more opportunity there will be for student-teacher interaction. The larger the class size the less opportunities there will be for learning via investigation - an approach favoured in the West, and indeed by education regulators in the UAE. However, if its results and attainment that matter, the impact is limited.

The report notes that even though the OECD member average is 21 children per class for primary there is wide variation. Chile and China have primary classes exceeding 30 students.  In lower secondary, the OECD average number of students per class is 24, but there is wide variation again. Topping the table are Finland, UK and Slovenia with less than 20 students per class, while Japan and Korea "lag behind" with 33. China recorded the biggest class size with a staggering 50+ students per class in lower secondary schools.

Teacher to student ratios also vary. The OECD average student to teacher ratio is 16 to 1 teacher. However, the figures fluctuate from 28 students per teacher in Mexico to less than 11 in Hungary, Norway and Saudi Arabia.

Although not participating in the OECD report, Dubai’s statistics for class size and student to teacher ratio are in line with the OECD averages. According to the KHDA, Dubai averages a student-teacher ratio of 16 students per teacher. The worst are the Indian schools with a ratio of 21:1 while UK and American schools have the best with a ratio of 14:1. Many Dubai based IB and UK based schools have classroom sizes in the low 20s, while the emirate's Indian curriculum schools often have classroom sizes of 30 and above.

The KHDA, Dubai’s education regulator, recommends 25.