Survey

Introduction

Learning depends on various factors for an individual to understand the concepts being taught in class. The class size contributes to the level of academic achievements since students have different sitting positions thus receiving information at different intervals. The teacher also can be tempted to focus on a few learners who might seem to be attentive while those beyond the teacher’s reach are left to survive with the little they can capture during the interaction process. The practice denies bright students who might miss the opportunity of sitting close to the teacher the right to better education. It is a common practice that new students find themselves sitting at the back of the class due to various reasons ranging from University policies to late reporting among other factors. This research paper focuses on answering the research question "How has class size affected student achievement among Saudi Arabian students at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia, in the last five years?" Both dependent and independent variables will be analyzed to establish the cause of such challenges in student achievement and bring out the relationship between class size and student achievement.

Research question

An appealing research question is clear, focused, precise and specific by demonstrating strategic parameters that can be employed to achieve the objectives of the research project. The question must possess both dependent and independent variables to meet the expected standards that can provide informative results at the end of the study instead of using a one-dimensional approach of variables. For my study, the research question has observed the necessary requirements of being clear, focused, precise and specific because it has both independent variables, class size, and dependent variables, student achievement. With the presence of the two variables, the choosing of journal articles was easy since specific words were used to search for relevant sources. The two types of variables help in determining the relationship between the class size and students achievement at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Effective learning happens when the learner is settled at a strategic position when he/she can interact with the teacher directly. Saudi Arabian students have the responsibility of seeking such positions for them to benefit from the learning process within the institution. This study focuses on establishing the challenges that Saudi Arabian students face as a result of belonging to large class sizes. Strategic sitting positions facilitate understanding hence improving the level of achievement among international students. The use of learners is relevant since they determine the quality standards of any given institution of higher learning. International students are always victims of circumstances thus making the choice of Saudi Arabian student appropriate for the study.

Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia will be used as the case study with the aim of narrowing down the research to make it effective due to the amount of time taken to evaluate the responses received from the ground. Using a specific institution is useful since the researcher will have time to explore different aspects of learning and conduct insightful investigations to establish the consequences of poor sitting structures. Information gathered from Clark Atlanta University can be used to relate to other institutions due to the similarities in operations. Standards should be set to ensure each student have access to quality education rather than enrolling masses that will only have a selected few achieving their objectives of being in school. The five-year duration is sufficient for the outcomes to be realized since the students will have enough experience of what it means to belong to a large class that has limited space for learners.

To facilitate a focused study, hypotheses were formulated to offer guidelines on what should be gathered towards solving the problem. The hypotheses were divided into null hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis as indicated: 1. Null hypothesis believed that class size was not a major determinant of student achievement among Saudi Arabian students at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia in the last five years. 2. An alternative hypothesis affirms that class size affected student achievement among Saudi Arabian students at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta Georgia. With such allegations, it is possible to make a decision on the kind of journal articles to be used during the study.

References:

Fan, F. A. (2012). Class Size: Effects On Students’ Academic Achievements And Some Remedial Measures. Research in Education, 87(1), 95-98.

Hoxby, C. M. (2000). The Effects Of Class Size On Student Achievement: New Evidence From Population Variation. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115(4), 1239-1285.

Paola, M. D., Ponzo, M., & Scoppa, V. (2013). Class size effects on student achievement: heterogeneity across abilities and fields. Education Economics, 21(2), 135-153.

Paola, M. D., & Scoppa, V. (2011). The Effects Of Class Size On The Achievement Of College Students. The Manchester School, 79(6), 1061-1079.

Shin, I., & Chung, J. Y. (2009). Class size and student achievement in the United States: A meta-analysis. KJEP, 6(2), 3-19.