Class Size and Classroom Processes

Abstract

Our focus in this chapter is the world of peer relations and the ways in which it is affected by the classroom contextual feature of class size. As we saw in Chapter 1, the classroom is an interesting and, in a sense, rather unusual environment in that it often comprises one adult – the teacher – and a large number of children. From the pupils’ point of view, they will typically spend more time with their classmates than with the teacher or other adults. It is interesting that we rather take for granted perhaps this most obvious feature of the classroom environment.