Presentation by Melissa Espat, M.Ed. at the 2nd Belize National Research Conference, 2019.

Abstract 

In 2011, the Ministry of Education implemented the Education Finance Reform in hopes of catering education to all students in Belize. The ministry is committed to accomplishing its goals of providing “an affordable high school within reach of all Belizean children with the view that it will lead to increased enrollment rates, lower dropout rates and act to mitigate crime, violence and poverty” (Ministry of Education, 2011). With the reform, however, the demands for government funds suggests that schools will be challenged to meet the high demands for enrollment; while government-aided schools will experience an increase in the enrollment population, and some public schools (fully Government funded) may experience a fall in their enrollment. The change in population will determine the means and strategies that teachers use in order to cover their curriculum. The change in population also creates a new look into how disciplinary problems are catered to, and how special needs are met. This paper examines how class size has affected teacher performance as an outcome of the Economic Reform Policy.

Key words: education reform, classroom size, teacher performance, Education Finance Reform, Belize Ministry of Education,