THE EFFECT OF CLASS SIZE ON EFFECTIVE TEACHING/ LEARNING OF SUMMARY WRITING IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGER STATE

The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the effect of large class size on the teaching/learning of summary writing in senor secondary schools especially in Niger State. The large class size places a major barrier to the effective teaching and learning of summary writing in English language as a core subject in these senior secondary schools. The study was also done to determine the effect of school location and gender on the student’s performance in summary writing. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the studies. The instrument used for data collection was test items drawn on comprehension and summary passages and face validation of the instrument was done by three expert in Language Education and Measurement and Evaluation from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A split- half method for single administration of instruments was used and the result of the test was analyzed using Crombanch Alpha to measure the consistency and reliability of the test. The sample for the test consisted of 400 senior secondary school students drawn from the selected schools in Suleja Education Zone which was the focus area for the study. Two hundred students were drawn from urban school location and two hundred students from rural school locations. The major findings of this study were that, the students taught summary writing in small class setting performed better than those taught in large class setting. Location was also a significant factor, the findings revealed that students taught summary writing in urban school locations had a better performance than the ones taught in rural school locations. Gender as well played a major role, in that, the female students scored higher in summary writing taught them than their male counterparts. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations were made to senior secondary school teachers in the state to engage students in frequent writing exercise, not only in English Language subject but in other subjects as well so as to help develop in them adequate writing skill. The text book writers and the curriculum planners are expected to make writing exercise feature often in the syllabus developed for senior secondary schools. The government should pay attention to solve the problems militating against the effectiveness of school programmes in general. The limitations of the study were outlined and suggestions for further research were proposed.