EFFECTS OF CLASS SIZE ON STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN NORTH CENTRAL, NIGERIA

The study investigated the effects of class size on students' academic achievement in public universities in North Central, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was employed for the study. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study comprised 14,812 students from 13 public universities in North Central, Nigeria, both state and federal. The sample size was 400 students selected through simple random and proportionate random sampling procedure. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled: Effects of Class Size and Students' Academic Achievement Questionnaire (ECSSAAQ). The data collected were analysed using mean score and standard deviation to answer the research questions and chi-square was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that class size had significantly effects public universities in North Central, Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that the number of students' in the Class should be controlled to enable class participation. Students should work toward enriching their grades in schools for better academic achievement.