PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS IN LARGE ACADEMIC CLASSES: LEARNING MOTIVATION WITHIN PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL ATMOSPHERE

The current study was focused on the differences between university students’ satisfactory levels in four major psycho-educational domains in terms of large size classes and regular classes. The role of class size in students’ academic performance was also studied by using the criterion of General Point Average (GPA). The research was conducted in three stages involving 40 students at the stage A, 147 students at stage B and 84 students at stage C. All samples were selected by using systematic multistage random sampling method. Using the scale of Student Satisfaction of Class Size-Normal/Large, and applying bivariate correlation and t-test for independent samples, the study revealed that students who participated in large classes showed significantly t(82)=7.575, (P<0.000) dissatisfaction in all four main psycho-educational domains including psycho-educational atmosphere, group interactions, concentration and learning and learning motivation. The results also revealed that academic performance in large classes is lower than regular classes. There were not significant differences between sample groups in terms of age and gender.