Abstract:
Class size is one of the many factors in education that have been thought to influence
student learning and academic achievement. It is no exception therefore that the mode
of instruction used by teachers is based on the number of students a teacher has to
attend to. Geography lessons can be taught both theoretically and practically providing
exposure to the students beyond the closure of classroom work. Latest findings by World
Bank (2015) have shown that pupil-teacher ratio in Kenyan secondary education had
increased from 29.4 students per teacher in 2001 to 41.1 students per teacher in 2012;
portraying an average annual growth rate of 4.16 %. This poses a challenge to teachers
of Geography and impacts learning of the students. This paper is an assessment of the
influence of class size on the Geography teachers’ use of Field Work Method in
teaching Geography in secondary schools in Kenya. The study focused on selected
secondary schools and teachers of geography in Kakamega County. Data was collected
from a total population of eighty-seven teachers of Geography from secondary schools
in three divisions namely: Lurambi, Ikolomani and Shinyalu. Data collection techniques
employed included questionnaire built on a Likert scale, interview schedule and
observation checklist of fieldwork study records maintained by the geography teachers.
The study concluded that the number of students in the geography class had clear
influence on the geography teacher’s decision to use the fieldwork method. The study
recommends that for effective use of the fieldwork method of teaching geography, the
classes should not have many students.
