Exploring the Effectiveness of Various Strategies to Deal with Overcrowded Classrooms (Class IV & V): An Action Research Case Study at Phuentsholing Primary School

Abstract

Phuentsholing Primary School is in one of the biggest commercial hubs of Bhutan with an increasing number of students enrolling every year. The school has 1598 students this year. On this account, most of the classes are overcrowded with a maximum of 39 students in a class. The classrooms are faced with numerous challenges due to overcrowding and the required elements of classrooms are not met resulting in the drawback of learning progress. So, this action research was designed to investigate the effectiveness of various strategies implemented in the two highest overcrowded classrooms (Class IV E & V F) of Phuentsholing Primary School (N = 78). Therefore, using a mixed method approach, baseline and post-intervention data were collected using various tools such as class tests, interviews, surveys, teaching observation, and documentation. Based on the findings of the baseline data, we implemented specific intervention strategies such as Team Teaching, Seat Rotation, and Peer Tutoring within the time duration of three weeks. On completion of the intervention period, post-intervention data were collected and analyzed using thematic coding for qualitative data and descriptive statistics using SPSS software for quantitative data. A comparative analysis of the baseline and post-intervention data were conducted to see if there has been any improvement in the students’ learning and performance. The study conclusively revealed that the intervention underscored the efficacy of diverse strategies in an overcrowded classroom.