Background of the Study Clas Classr sroom oom is the the very very impo import rtan antt fact factor orss of effe effect ctiv ivee lear learni ning ng,, it is the hea heart of any educational system. No curriculum planning is complete without implementation and evaluation, both of which are mainly carried out in the classroom. Most of the class activities take place while students are seated. The seating arrangement is therefore too important to suer the kind of neglect being experienced by many second secondary ary schoo schools ls in the countr country y. As rightl rightly y observ observed ed by ohen ohen and Manion Manion !"#$%&''"( )a careful attention to seating arrangement contributes as eectively as any other aspect of classroom management and control to overall success with a class subse*uently.)!ru+,"##( also a-rms that one potent index for evaluating educa educatio tional nal standa standard rds s and *ualit *uality y is an examin examinati ation on of the physi physical cal facili facilitie ties s available for learning experiences). The seating arrangement can make or mar any lesson. deally, in a secondary school, especially in a mixed ability grouping, as found found in Nigeri Nigerian an schoo schools ls,, seats seats should should be arran arranged ged in rows rows with with a reaso reasonab nable le amount of space between them to allow for proper teacher / student and student / student interactions, as well as allow for individual and group work !ohen and Manion, "#$%(.
III.Statement of the problem:
".0hat are the disadvantages of having a classroom insu-ciency in public elementary school1
2. Why does the lack of public elementary classroom occurs? 3. How does our government specially the ep!d give emphasis on how to resolve the shortage of Classroom in public elementary school? ".How does the lack of elementary classroom affect elementary pupils? #.What are the contribution of parents and government in resolving the lack of classroom in elementary schools?
IV. The disadvantages of having a classroom insufficiency in public elementary school. $vercrowded schools are a serious problem in many school systems, particularly in the inner cities, where space for new construction is at a premium and funding for such construction is limited. %s a result, students find themselves trying to learn while &ammed into spaces never intended as classrooms, such as libraries, gymnasiums, laboratories, lunchrooms, and even closets'%lcomber, 2()"* %lthough research on the relationship b etween +ack of classroom and student learning has been limited, there is some evidence, particularly in highpoverty schools, that overcrowding can have an adverse impact on learning. % study of overcrowded schools in -ew ork City found that students in such schools scored significantly lower on both mathematics and reading e/ams
than did similar students in underutili0ed schools. 1n addition, when asked, students and teachers in overcrowded schools agreed that overcrowding negatively affected both classroom activities and instructional techniues. 'ivera4ati0 and 5arti, )66#* Corcoran et al. ')677* found that overcrowding and heavy teacher workloads created stressful working conditions for teachers and led to higher teac her absenteeism. 1t also cause of high number of street children in some places in our country.
V. Reasonof having lack of public elementary classroom in Philippines? Effectiveness requires minimum input. With classroom shortages and poor working conditions for teachers, the Philippines cannot expect a good outcome from its school system. Philippine basic education also suffers in terms of efficiency. The reason here is its focus on excellence and competition. There are elite schools that are very selective in its enrollment and at the same time, these schools likewise attract the best teachers. ence, much of the resources which are already severely limited go to where these are least needed. The emphasis on excellence sacrifices equity. !tudents who need most and schools that require more resources are simply neglected and ignored. !uch school system therefore takes pride in producing quite a few excellent alumni while leaving most of the population poorly educated. "learly, in order for the Philippines to improve its education system, it must dramatically change its culture. #t must switch from a focus on excellence to an emphasis on equity. This addresses efficiency and solves half of the problem. $or the other half, there is no solution other than increasing the budget for education. The number of children in the Philippines has grown significantly in the past decade. This alone requires greater funding. With the above in mind, it should be crystal clear that changing the curriculum does not address any of these problems. %epEd&s '()* does not and can not solve the problems of Philippine basic education.
VI. DepEd give emphasis to resolve the shortage of lassroom in public elementary school .
1n the 8hilippines, we take pride in basic education as a right and not a privilege as mandated by the Constitution. 9:ection ). ;he :tate shall protect and pro mote the right of all citi0ens to uality education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such educ ation accessible to all. ')67< 8hil. Const. %rticle =1>, :ection )*, and that it is the :tates responsibility to establish, maintain, and support this kind of education. ')67< 8hil. Const. %rticle =1>, :ection 2*. ;he undertaking of this mandate however is not without challenges. $ne persistent crisis in our educational system is the shortage in classrooms as evident in some ma&or public schools in 5etro 5anila. ep!d announced that three additional alternative solutions are being considered@ the alternative delivery modes, busing system and threeday school week in several areas in 5etro 5anila. Ander the alternative delivery modes, students are reuired to go through their learning modules under parental guidance and meet with their teachers only once or twice a week for monitoring and testing. ;here had been some criticisms on the intentions and nature of the program but 1f we look at its advantage, it offers an alternative to all willing students to learn at home without going to school regularly. ;his would reduce number of students at schools while still providing students at home the means to learn and graduate, go to college and even go abroad. Ander the Bbusing system, on the other hand, students from overcrowded schools are transferred via vans to nearby schools that have the capability to absorb large number of students. ;his one is promising especially that according to ep!d :ecretary %rmin %. +uistro, D:C, uneual distribution of students across the country and Black of buildable spaces are two factors that cause overcrowding in some schools and Ban e/cess of classrooms in others. While the government is still looking for potential school sites where new classrooms will be built on, the Bbusing system is a good alternative for stabili0ing if not euali0ing, the student population in some most populated schools. +ast but not the least, the threeday school week scheme where students are reuired to attend classes for only three o r four days but with additional class hours. ;his proposal hasnt been implemented yet for it reuires an in dep th analysis and consultations with the parents and other learning institutions if indeed it would be an effective tool for learning.. ep!d is still currently conducting further studiesto ensure its effectiveness to the students. ;he governments commitment on its aims to broaden the access of students to uality
education was shown on all of its effort to provide alternative solutions. !asier said than done though. ;he fact that classroom shortage has outlived the past governments says what kind of problem we are dealing with. 4ut whatever the current government has to do to permanently eliminate this educational crisis, the end goal should always be for the betterment of its people to whom it is accountable. :omehow, knowing that the %uino administration can show statistical data supporting its commitment to make education accessible to all is comforting. ;he priority of education in the national budget as shown in the 2()" education budget '83(6."3 billion*, the reduction of highly congested schools in the -ational Capital egion '-C* from )2( schools in :2())2()2 to 2( schools in 2()",and the construction of EE,7)3 classrooms that would cover the 2()( classroom backlog left by the %rroyo administration are some beautiful things to be proud of. 1 know, we still have a long way to go but as long as everybody believes in the power of education and of what it could bring to this country and to the world, then theres still hope for us Dilipinos.
VII. !ack of elementary classroom affect elementary pupils. The study observed that some teachers employed the lecture teaching method2 they rarely applied *uestions and answers teaching strategy. 3eniamin !'445( argued that, with lecturing method, pupils are pretty much omitted to their own capacity of understanding and in big classes it becomes more di-cult for teachers to recogni+e slow learners. 6ome of the respondents argued that the use of lecture method was contributed by several factors such as overcrowded classrooms, and lack of motivation. Teachers were very conscious about the situation. They perceived the circumstance as leading them to use lecture method. Among the shortcomings of lecture teaching strategy is that individual dierence is neglected. To this end, the ratio of teacher to students should not exceed "&%4 or at most 4 7udging by the si+e of the classrooms. 3ut what one 8nds in many of these classes is between ratio "&54 and "&"54 incertain cases. t was observed that the interaction between teacher and pupils was not eective due to a large number of pupils per class and sitting arrangements. t was observed that pupils did not get enough individual assistance from their teachers during teaching/learning process. All pupils who were interviewed complained that they did not get enough individual help from their teachers.
VIII. ontribution of parents in resolving the lack of classroom in elementary
schools 1n the natural course of things, there is hardly any logic to that. Anless, of course, one euates esponsible 8arenthood with the overpopulation myth or the most contentious eproductive Health 4illFwhich actually he grossly does. 4ut granting that the good 8resident meant overpopulation as the cause of classroom shortage, there is still no iota of plausibility because according to the -ational :tatistics $ffice, the number of babies born per year has stopped increasing since 2(((Gand it even dropped by 2.2 to ).<"# million babies born in 2((6 vs. ).<7" million babies per year in 2((7. ;hus from the national count, there is hardly any increase in Irade $ne enrollees because of the stagnant birth rate. %dmittedly, there is shortage of classroomsGand of almost everythingGin 5etro 5anila and in some urban centers. %nd the reason is migration. ;he centrali0ation of the population is the reason why in the rural areas classrooms are becoming less and less occupied. Wellmeaning demographers will agree that what is needed is not really population deceleration but decentrali0ation. %t the end of the day, it will all boil down to population and resource management or the lack of themGand not careless legislation that grossly oppose the logic of even economics and ethics.
I".onlusion
". Recomendation
#ibliography 3eniamin, 9., '445. :ducation for all or enrolment for all. ;npublished
.$berg, ;. '2()2, 5ay )(*. +ocal school has potential solution to overcrowded classrooms Q abc)3.com. %4C $wned ;elevision :tations. etrieved ecember 2, 2()2, from
[email protected]? sectionMnewsLinPfocusKidM7E#E6E) $berg, ;. '2()2, 5ay )(*. Class si0es across ;e/as ballooning after state cuts billions of dollars in education funding Q abc)3.com. %4C $wned ;elevision :tations. etrieved ecember 2, 2()2, from
[email protected]?sectionMnewsLinPfocusKidM7E##2E" .Ioettler:opko, :. )66(. ;he effect of class si0e on reading achievement.!1C ocument eproduction:ervicAkinyemi, 9. !"#$%( Trends in
rimary :ducation in
Nigeria?, in Adesina, 6. Akinyemi, 9 and A7ayi, 9. !eds(& Nigerian :ducation. Trends and ssues. le/fe& ;niversity of fe >ress @td. Adesina, 6. !"##4( :ducational Management. Nigeria& ourth ublishers. ohen, @. and Manion, @. !"#$%( A Buide to Teaching >ractice. @ondon& Methuen. ontana, <. !"#$"( ?lass ontrol and Management in ontana, sychology or Teachers. @ondon& The Macmillan >ress @td. Ndagi, C.D. !"#$%( ?inancing of :ducation in Nigeria ;nder Military Eule !"#F$/"#G$(? in Adesina, 6. Akinyemi, 9. and A7ayi, 9. !eds(& Nigerian :ducation. Trends and ssues. le/fe& ;niversity of fe >ress @td. ert. "4. Dgunsa7u, 6. !"##4( A Buide to 6chool :ectiveness in Nigeria. badan& @aville >ublications.
Conclusion: rom the 8ndings of this study, one can conclude that seating arrangement in over/ populated classes places limitations on the *uality and *uantity of interactions between the teachers and the students as well as on the *uality of teaching and learning. The 8ndings also cast some doubt on the skills of the teachers in dealing with the problems. ndulging in negative reinforcement like punishment, is not educationally expedient. These are direct conse*uences on inade*uate classrooms and furniture as well as poor *uality training of teachers. n view of the above, the following suggestions are made. 6hortages of classrooms and teachers in secondary schools need to be treated as a national crisis worthy of the attention of both the ederal and 6tate Bovernments, A lasting solution is therefore building of additional classrooms and employing more teachers, hi fact, 7udging by Table ", there is a need to double existing facilities. A ratio of "&%5 teacher to students is hereby suggested. ederal and 6tate Bovernments should lift embargo speci8cally on the employment of teachers. Dn students? furniture, the Ministries of :ducation should direct schools to treat them like school uniform which is organi+ed by each school in order to ensure uniformity. n the alternative, the Bovernment could design a standard set !chair and desk( for students to buy from speci8ed local furniture shops at an aordable price. Dn the coping skills of the teachers, a more positive approach as suggested by Nolasco and Arthur !"#$$( is to establish some formality in class activities right from the beginning of the lesson. This could be in form of class routines and convention that would keep the students busy as soon as the lesson starts. Ade*uate planning and implementation of lessons would also keep them busy throughout the lesson. To this end, seminars and workshops should be organised for teachers to sharpen their skills of teaching.
