RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

In terms of academic engagement (Finn et al., 2003), this study uses student attentiveness, involvement and class participation as the student learning behaviors. Student attentiveness refers to concentration in the learning process (Blatchford et al., 2009) and may be adversely impacted by disruptive behavior of students or poor classroom management, which may be more likely in large class environments (Leufer, 2007; Wulff et al., 1987). Thus, the larger the class size, the greater the potential for distraction.

H1.
Student attentiveness level will be higher in small classes than in large classes.

Involvement is a motivational construct. In the context of advertising, Zaichkowsky (1994) defines advertising involvement as an individual’s perception of the relevance of the advertisement’s message based on inherent needs, values and interests. Following this logic, student involvement with the course is defined as the extent to which a student perceives the relevance of the course subject based on inherent needs, values and interests. Wulff et al. (1987) found that students in larger classes reported lower involvement:

H2.
Student involvement level with the course will be higher in small classes than in large classes.

Weaver and Qi (2005) define classroom participation as students’ remarks or questions directed toward the instructor. Bai and Change (2016) found that students in larger classes have lower levels of class participation than in smaller classes. Large classes allow students to have a passive role in class, which may decrease the likelihood of initiating and responding to the teacher (Blatchford et al., 2009). Weaver and Qi (2005) note that large classes permit greater anonymity and enable students to seat themselves at the periphery of the classroom, thereby facilitating the strategic withdrawal of the majority. Thus:

H3.
Student class participation level will be higher in small classes than in large classes.

Finn et al. (2003) refer to student social behaviors such as interaction with peers and teachers in the classroom as social engagement. Although social engagement encompasses both prosocial and antisocial behaviors, this study focuses only on prosocial behaviors and positive interactions. Class size has the potential to affect how students interact with each other (Ehrenberg et al., 2001), and peer interaction may influence student learning outcomes (SLOs) as much as interaction with teachers (Alderman, 2008). Social behavior in small classes is generally more positive than in larger classes (Blatchford, et al., 2009). Students in small classes are less likely to be disruptive due to easier class management. Also, larger classes decrease classmate supportiveness and prosocial interactions (Bai and Chang, 2016). Thus:

H4.
Student interaction with classmates will be higher in small classes than in large classes.

Class size may also influence teachers’ interpersonal styles, which in turn may affect their interactions with the students (Finn et al., 2003). For example, class size impacts how much time an instructor devotes to understanding and addressing the needs and interests of individual students (Ehrenberg et al., 2001). Current research uses teacher encouragement and teacher supportiveness to represent the quality of student–teacher interactions. Teacher encouragement refers to an instructor’s tendency to encourage more class participation by communicating to the entire class as well as by communicating directly with individual students (Fassinger, 1995). With increased interactions between students and teachers in small classes, students may perceive higher levels of teacher encouragement, compared to fewer interactions in large classes. Thus:

H5.
Student perception of teacher encouragement will be higher in small classes than in large classes.

Student perception of an instructor’s supportiveness is also salient. Teacher supportiveness refers to the extent to which a student feels respected by an instructor and/or receives individual attention from them (Fassinger, 1995). A teacher may distribute time more equitably in a small class than in a large class and may have more opportunities to pay attention to individual needs and to support individual students (Blatchford et al., 2009). Thus:

H6.
Student perception of teacher supportiveness will be higher in small classes than in large classes.

Learning behaviors and social behaviors contribute to student academic achievement (Finn et al., 2003). In addition, the research discussed above demonstrates that class sizes affect student academic performance. Accordingly,

H7.
The factors affecting student academic performance may include attentiveness, involvement, class participation, interaction with classmates, perception of teacher encouragement, perception of teacher supportiveness and class size.

Many educators argue for the diversification of assessment methods in higher education (Maringe & Sing, 2014). Maher (2004) advocates the use of learning outcomes that focus attention directly on the activities and achievements of students, rather than simply on teaching the curriculum content. According to AACSB, learning goals should reflect broad educational expectations for each degree program. At the university in which this study was conducted, business knowledge and communication skills are key SLOs. As student perception of learning reflects how students evaluate their learning experience at the end of the semester, all classroom activities, processes, social behaviors and class size are involved. Therefore,

H8.
The factors affecting the student perceived learning outcome of business knowledge may include attentiveness, involvement, class participation, interaction with classmates, perception of teacher encouragement, perception of teacher supportiveness and class size.

H9.
The factors affecting the student perceived learning outcome of communication skills may include attentiveness, involvement, class participation, interaction with classmates, perception of teacher encouragement, perception of teacher supportiveness and class size

Pedagogical researchers have applied the construct of satisfaction to the educational setting, recognizing the need to monitor student satisfaction as a means of assessing the overall performance of higher education institutions (Martirosyan, 2015). Santini et al. (2017) found student satisfaction in higher education as a significant impact on consequent outcomes for the success of student and institutions, such as attitude toward the institution, intention to recommend, involvement loyalty, trust and word-of-mouth. Due to its importance, student satisfaction is added as an educational outcome in this study. Thus,

H10.
The factors affecting student satisfaction may include attentiveness, involvement, class participation, interaction with classmates, perception of teacher encouragement, perception of teacher supportiveness and class size.

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