Problem Analysis About Oversized Class Size In Cities And Towns Of Ethnic Minority Areas

The class size is one of the most important factors of education teaching quality. After years of development, our country has achieved free compulsory education. After completed the free compulsory education, the investment of education development should turn its focus from increasing the quantity, scale to structure adjustment, stability, consolidation and quality improvement. The key point of education work should be shifted from ensuring enrollment numbers to improving education quality. However, the growing scale of compulsory education has become a important factor affecting the quality of education. Especially for ethnic minority areas where education development is not balanced, the problem of oversized class size is more serious. In this paper, the problem of oversized class size, as the important restricting factor of compulsory education quality in ethnic minority areas, has been investigated instanced Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. In order to analysis of its damage and propose the solution, the current situation and the cause of oversized class size has been reported. It has important implications for improving education quality in ethnic minority areas.Through field investigation we found that, comparing with the national level, the oversized class index in Enshi county town is much high which up to53%. In2011, the total number of large, oversized class in primary and secondary schools was83%and the normal class was only17%in Enshi city town. In county town, the situation in secondary schools is more severe than primary schools. In7primary schools and5secondary schools in Enshi city, in addition to two private secondary schools, the problem of large and oversized class was very serious, the maximum class size reaching93peoples. The objective reasons of oversized class problem in primary and secondary schools are the growing urbanization process and the population change. Meanwhile, the subjective reasons are the pursuit of economic interests to reduce schools, unreasonable layout adjustment about compulsory education schools. The important reasons are single investment main body and people pursuit of high quality education resources. The basic reasons are inadequate education investment and school construction not synchronized with urban development. The special reasons are backward economy and relatively weak teacher resources in the ethnic minority areas. Oversized class is harmful for students’ personal safety, health of body and mind, implementation of new curriculum reform and education fair. In order to solve the problem of oversized class in primary and secondary schools in Enshi city town, all social forces should be mobilized, including government guidance(increasing education investment, promoting the development of non-governmental education), coordination from education administrative departments(closing and consolidating schools scientific and reasonable, promoting balanced development of compulsory education in urban and rural), schools control(put students’interests first, optimizing education human resources) and teachers implement(exploring effective way in large class, enhancing the concern from teachers).