and, second, classroom management and other non-teaching activities (collecting dinner
money, lining the class up, putting on coats, taking the register etc.). Teachers were also
asked for estimates of time spend in various reading activities on the basis of which
two measures were derived: frequency of reading aloud to an adult in school, and
duration of time each child was heard to read by an adult. Data came from 279 reception
classes, 207 Year 1 classes, and 118 Year 2 classes. Further details on the methodology
can be found in Blatchford, Moriarty, Edmonds and Martin, 2002.
Systematic observations
The observation component involved a sub sample of children in 18 small (20 or
under) and 21 large (30 and over) reception classes. The average in small classes was
19, and in large classes 33. There was a sub sample of 6 children in each class and 235
children in all. We used a systematic observation schedule that had been developed in
previous research (Tizard, Blatchford, Burke, Farquhar and Plewis, 1988) which
involved observations in terms of 5-minute observation sheets divided into continuous
10-second time samples. The schedule had categories describing how children
behaved in three ‘social modes’: when with their teachers, when with other children,
and when not interacting. Subcategories within each of these three modes covered
work, procedural, social, and off-task activities. For full definitions and conventions
of categories see Blatchford (in press,b).
Teachers' experiences of the effect of class size - data from end of year questionnaires
Questionnaires sent out near the end of each school year asked teachers about their
experiences and views on selected topics, e.g., whether class size differences affected
teaching and learning over the year, and the contribution of other staff and adults in
the classroom. We analysed questionnaires completed by 151 reception teachers
(cohort 2), 208 year one teachers (cohort one), 130 year one teachers (cohort two),
and 153 year two teachers (cohort one). The aim was to describe teachers' views and
experiences in a thorough way by collecting information from a substantial number
each year and by a careful analysis of the range and type of answers given. The
analysis combined quantitative analysis of the prevalence of different categories of
answers with illustrative and verbatim quotations from teachers' written answers (see
Blatchford, Moriarty, Edmonds and Martin, 2002 for more details).
Case studies of selected small and large classes
Case studies were conducted to provide complementary information to that in other
quantitative components of the study. The aim was to provide a more detailed
portrayal of individual classes, which would provide the basis for a more interpretive
and grounded analysis of factors relating to staff and adult deployment in class.
Schools were selected with differing class size categories, i.e., large (30 and over),
large medium (26-29), small medium (20-25), and small (under 20). There were two
classes in each class size band in each year (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2), totalling
24 classes in all. Selected aspects of classroom learning and experience, expected to
be connected to class size differences, were defined in advance, and then on the basis
of field visits were refined into headings including grouping practices; classroom
discipline; tasks and curriculum; teacher pupil interactions and knowledge of children;
and pupil adjustment and peer relations
The method comprised whole class and selected child observations in terms of event
sampling of significant events; semi-structured interviews with teachers and the head