ABSTRACT
Large group teaching is a growing phenomenon in higher education, and, whatever our view of it, it is here to stay. In the introduction, we identified two key trends that are causing class sizes to swell. The first is the massification of higher education (Cornuel, 2007). The proportion of students undertaking higher-level education increased by an average of nearly 25 percentage points in OECD countries between 1995 and 2010 (OECD, 2012). In the developed world, the attainment of at least an undergraduate degree is increasingly becoming the norm. An average of 62% of young adults in OECD countries will enter higher-level programs (OECD, 2012). Globally, the percentage of the relevant age cohort enrolled in tertiary education grew from 19% to 26% between 2000 and 2007 (Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbley, 2009). Most developing countries are on a similar trajectory. In China, tertiary enrollments by school leavers are expected to rise from 24% to 38% between 2007 and 2020, while corresponding enrolments in India are expected to rise from 16% to 23%. It is expected that the five largest tertiary education systems in 2020 will be China (37 million students); India (28 million students); United States (20 million students); Brazil (9 million students); and Indonesia (7.8 million students)(The British Council, 2012).
