MASSIFICATION AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS; CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH TEACHING LARGE CLASSES AND HOW IT IMPACTS THE QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32478/al-mudarris.v6i2.1842

Authors

Abstract

The paper engages with the phenomenon of large classes in higher education institutions in South Africa and its challenges to the quality of teaching learning. Most public higher education institutions in South Africa, in response to historical conditions, have enrolled students more than their capacity, resulting in massification and negative consequences on educational quality. There has been a plethora of literature on the teaching of large classes, however, few studies offer a comprehensive engagement on the challenges presented by teaching larges and its impact on quality of education as well as innovative strategies that can be used to teach and different learning pedagogies that can be used. This essay identified the challenges of teaching large class in higher education institutions due to massification and large enrolments and their implications on sustaining and enhancing quality of teaching and learning. In addition, I suggested several strategies that can be used to overcome the challenges of teaching large classes as well as how to monitor and evaluate these strategies with the aim of improving quality of higher education in the era of massification. Accordingly, the human capital theory was adopted. Furthermore, a qualitative research approach was applied in this study and a systematic literature review was used to collect and review information according to the guiding principles of the hermeneutic framework. The essay contributes to literature with the strategies to enhance quality of teaching and learning, student engagements and teaching approaches aimed at reaching all students in large classes.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Taurayi Stephen Nyagope, Walter Sisulu University South Africa
    Deparmtent of Accounting and Finance

References

Allais, S. 2014. A critical perspective on large class teaching: The political economy of massification and the sociology of knowledge. Higher Education, 67(6), 721–734.

Adetiba, T. C. (2019, October). Massification of higher education in South Africa, the good, the bad and the ugly. In Proceedings of International Academic Conferences (No. 9410873). International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.

Albertyn, R. M., Machika, P., & Troskie-de Bruin, C. (2016). Towards responsible massification: Some pointers for supporting lecturers. Africa Education Review, 13(3-4), 49-64.

Amanda, K. (2017, April 13). 4 universities at risk of losing LLB qualification accreditation. News24. https://www.news24.com/news24/4-universities-at-risk-of-losing-llb-qualification-accreditation-20170413.

Arias, J. and D. Walker. 2004. Additional evidence on the relationship between class size and student performance. Journal of Economic Education, 4(3), 311–329.

Arvanitakis, J. 2014. Massification and the large lecture theatre: From panic to excitement. Higher Education, 67(6), 735–745. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9676-y

Biggs, J. (1999). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does. Buckingham, UK: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press. Journal for Higher Education Research and Development, 18(1), 11-16.

Boell, S. K., & Cecez-Kecmanovic, D. (2014). A hermeneutic approach for conducting literature reviews and literature searches. Communications of the Association for information Systems, 34(1), 12.

Bryant, B. (1978). Cooperative goal structure and collaborative learning. Teaching of Psychology, 5(4), 182-185.

Carbone, E. (1999). Students behaving badly in large classes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 1999(77), 35-43.

Chang, D-F., and C-C. Yeh. 2012. Teaching quality after the massification of higher education in Taiwan. Chinese Education and Society, 45(5-6), 31–44.

Christopher, D.A. (2011). Interactive large classes: the dynamics of teacher/student interaction. Journal of Business and Economics Research, 1(8), 81-98.

Cooper, J. L., & Robinson, P. (2000). The argument for making large classes seem small. New directions for teaching and learning, 2000(81), 5-16.

Cuseo, J. (2007). The empirical case against large class size: Adverse effects on the teaching, learning, and retention of first-year students. The Journal of Faculty Development, 21(1), 5-21.

Ehrenberg, R. G., Brewer, D. J., Gamoran, A., & Willms, J. D. (2001). Class size and student achievement. Psychological science in the public interest, 2(1), 1-30.

Exeter, D.J., S. Ameratunga, M. Ratima, S. Morton, M. Dickson, D. Hsu and R. Jackson. 2010. Student engagement in very large classes: The teachers’ perspective. Studies in Higher Education, 35(7), 761–775.

Foschi, L. C. (2021). Innovative Aspects and Evaluation Methods in a Teachers' Continuous Professional Development Training Experience. Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 29(1), 46-64.

Fraser, W. and R. Killen. 2005. The perceptions of students and lecturers of some factors influencing academic performance at two South African universities: Research article. Perspectives in Education, 23(1), 25–40.

Game, A. and A. Metcalfe. 2009. Dialogue and team teaching. Higher Education Research and Development, 28(1), 45–57.

Gibbons, M. (1998) Higher Education Relevance in the 21st Century. Paper prepared for the World Bank as part of its contribution to the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education. Paris, 5-9 October 1998.

Goodman, S., T. Jaffer, M. Keresztesi, D. Mamdani, M. Musariri, J. Pires and A. Schlechter. 2011. An investigation of the relationship between students’ motivation and academic performance as mediated by effort. South African Journal of Psychology 41(3), 373–385.

Gibbs, G. 1992. Improving the quality of student learning. ProQuest LLC.

Gibbs, G., Lucas, L., & Simonite, V. (1996). Class size and student performance: 1984–94. Studies in higher education, 21(3), 261-273.

Guest, G., Namey, E., Taylor, J., Eley, N., & McKenna, K. (2017). Comparing focus groups and individual interviews: findings from a randomized study. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(6), 693-708.

Harding, A. & Engelbrecht, J. (2017). Strategies involved in teaching large groups of Undergraduate students. Journal of Educational Studies, 16(2), 63-81.

Hornsby D.J., and R. Osman. 2014. Massification in higher education: Large classes and student learning. Higher Education 67(6), 711–719.

Huang, F. 2012. Higher Education from massification to universal access. Higher Education 63(2), 257–270.

Jerez, O., Orsini, C., Ortiz, C., & Hasbun, B. (2021). Which conditions facilitate the effectiveness of large-group learning activities? A systematic review of research in higher education. Learning: Research and Practice, 7(2), 147-164.

Jungic, V., Kent, D., & Menz, P. (2006). Teaching large math classes: Three instructors, one experience. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 1(1), 1-15.

Kanyengo, C. W. (2007). Serials management in Africa: a review of survival strategies at the University of Zambia. Serials Review, 33(1), 33-39.

Kerr, A. (2011). Teaching and learning in large classes at Ontario universities: An exploratory study. Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.

Lau, K. V., Farooque, P., Leydon, G., Schwartz, M. L., Sadler, R. M., & Moeller, J. J. (2018). Using learning analytics to evaluate a video-based lecture series. Medical teacher, 40(1), 91-98.

Lee, S. Y. (2016). Massification without equalisation: The politics of higher education, graduate employment and social mobility in Hong Kong. Journal of Education and Work, 29(1), 13-31.

Leufer, T. (2007). Students' Perceptions of the Learning Experience in a Large class environment. Nursing Education Perspectives, 28(6), 322-326.

Marginson, S. (2016). High participation systems of higher education. The Journal of Higher Education, 87(2), 243-271.

Mahler, S., L. Neumann and P. Tamir. 1986. The class size effect upon activity and cognitive dimensions of lessons in higher education. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 11(1), 43−49.

Mateo, M. A. and J. Fernandez. 1996. Incidence of class size on the evaluation of university teaching quality. Education and Psychological Measurement 56(5), 771− 778.

McKeachie, W. J. (1980). Class size, large classes and multiple sections. Academe, 66(1), 24–27.

Messineo, M., Gaither, G., Bott, J., & Ritchey, K. (2007). Inexperienced versus experienced students' expectations for active learning in large classes. College Teaching, 55(3), 125-133.

Meyer, H. D., John, E. P. S., Chankseliani, M., & Uribe, L. (2013). Fairness in Access to Higher Education in a Global Perspective: Reconciling Excellence, Efficiency, and Justice. Sense Publishers.

Mohamedbhai, G. (2008). The effects of massification on higher education in Africa. Association of African University Press.

Moodley, P. (2015). Student overload at university: large class teaching challenges: part 1. South African Journal of Higher Education, 29(3), 150-167.

Moulding, N.T. 2010. Intelligent design: Student perceptions of teaching and learning in large social work courses. Higher Education Research and Development, 29(2), 151–165.

Mulryan-Kyne, C. 2010. Teaching large classes at college and university level: Challenges and opportunities. Teaching in Higher Education, 15(2), 175–185.

Nicol, D.J., and J.T. Boyle. 2003. Peer instruction versus class-wide discussion in large classes: A comparison of two interaction methods in the wired classroom. Studies in Higher Education, 28(4), 457–473

Obanya, P. A. I. (2004). Educating for the knowledge economy. Mosuro Publishers.

Parhizgar, K.D. 2010. Comparative ethical analysis of educational competition in academia. Comparative Review: An International Business Journal, 20(1), 72–84.

Pravina, P. (2020). Massification at universities of higher learning in South Africa. Gender and Behaviour, 18(1), 14783-14798.

Prosser, M., and K. Trigwell. 2014. Qualitative variation in approaches to university teaching in large first-year classes. Higher Education, 67(6), 783–795.

Scott, P. (1995). The meanings of mass higher education. SRHE and Open University Press.

Shrivastava, M. and S. Shrivastava. 2014. Political economy of higher education: Comparing South Africa to trends in the world. Higher Education, 67(6), 809–822.

Switzer, J.S. 2004. Teaching computer-mediated visual communication to a large section: A constructivist approach. Innovative Higher Education, 29(2), 89–101.

Trow, M. (1999). From mass higher education to universal access: The American advantage. Minerva, 37(4), 303-328.

Trow, M. (2000). From mass higher education to universal access: The American advantage. Research and Occasional Paper Series. Spring, 2000(1), 1-26.

Gibbs, G., Jenkins, A., & Alan, J. (Eds.). (1992). Teaching large classes in higher education: How to maintain quality with reduced resources. Psychology Press.

Wentling, T. L., Park, J., & Peiper, C. (2007). Learning gains associated with annotation and communication software designed for large undergraduate classes. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 23(1), 36-46.

Westphalen, L. (2013). Teaching large classes: The magnificent seven. The University of Adelaide, 1-9.

Downloads

Published

2023-10-31

Issue

Section

Original Research Article

How to Cite

MASSIFICATION AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS; CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH TEACHING LARGE CLASSES AND HOW IT IMPACTS THE QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING. (2023). Al-Mudarris: Journal Of Education, 6(2), 133-150. https://doi.org/10.32478/al-mudarris.v6i2.1842