The Perspective and Experience of Teachers and Students Studying in an Overcrowded Classroom in Junior Secondary School in Kosofe Education District of Lagos State

This study focused on discovering what teachers and students experienced and what their perceptions are about teaching and learning in overcrowded classroom. Overcrowded classroom is an overwhelming phenomenon in Nigeria. Research had suggested that large classes have implications for the worth of students’ education. For instance, in outsized classes, classroom management is significant to teacher productivity. Though a lot has been written on the effects on students learning and performance but there is paucity of study on what the experience of teachers and students and perceptions are. Over-populated classroom is a major problem facing public schools in Nigeria with an average class size of 70 which is at variance with teacher-student ratio. This makes the use of creative and participatory teaching techniques a herculean task for teachers. Although teachers and students are key stakeholders in classrooms and directly experience teaching and learning in overcrowded classrooms, little to no research exists on their perspectives and experiences of learning in overcrowded classrooms. The theoretical framework used was, socio-constructivist theory of learning which talks about students learning socially and culturally. Two public secondary schools from Kosofe Local Education District of Lagos State were used for the study. The sample were made of teachers and students, who were purposively sampled. In all, iv researcher selected 20 students plus 20 teachers. The research answered the questions below: (1) What are the perspectives of students and teachers on learning in over-crowded classrooms? (2) How do teachers and students describe their experiences of learning in over-crowded classrooms? (3) How do teachers and students interact in over-crowded classrooms? The investigation used qualitative research method using multiple case study. Researcher generated data from teachers using semi-structured interview, from students with focused, also semi-structured classroom observation. To analyse the data generated, within case and across case analysis were used. The finding showed that teachers were not happy working in overcrowded classroom because of the effect on their wellbeing. The finding also showed that overcrowded classroom was perceived as a clog in the wheel of effective instruction and learning. Teachers became challenged using innovative and interactive teaching techniques. They also found it difficult to have one-on-one interaction with the student making it difficult to easily detect gap in their works.