Impact of School Facilities on Student Academic Performance: Case Study of Some Selected Secondary School in Igarra Akoko Edo Local Government Area, Edo State
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to find out the impact of school facilities on academic performance of secondary schools students in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State. While we do not have the data to identify the specific mechanism by which compliances is linked to educational outcomes, from existing research, we know that school buildings in poor shape lead to reduced learning.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In consideration of the research questions that guided this study, a review of related literature and selected studies will be presented in this chapter. The literature review will examine theoretical perspectives concerning school facilities and student achievement while incorporating aspects of critical race and social constructivist theories to further support and ground this study. The literature review will also examine student performance and motivation in relationship to the academic achievement of poor and minority students educated in deteriorating school facilities.
CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK
STUDIES OF URBAN SCHOOL FACILITIES AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
The educational infrastructure in the United States of America has primarily been a function of state and local responsibility. While the goal of many states has been to create learning environments where children can be properly educated and prepared for the future, numerous reports and studies have indicated our nation’s school facilities are in poor condition. The studies included in this section disrepute the common worldview that the United States is a formidable powerhouse in education. Many studies have shown the opposite to be true and have thus drawn attention to the sharp contrast between the ideals of equality set forth by our founding fathers and the lived realities of individuals who reside in this country. The aim of this section, then, is to consider thecondition of America’s educational infrastructure via studies which indicate deteriorating, inequitable facilities lead to reduced learning and poor academic achievement for poor and minority children. In her quantitative study which examined the impact of parental involvement on the condition of Washington D.C. public schools, Maureen Edwards (1991) found the condition of public school buildings to be statistically related to the academic achievement of students. Using a regression model to test her hypothesis that the condition of school buildings affected academic achievement, Edwards (1991) also measured the overall condition of the schools in her study by assigning a scale score (1= excellent, 2= fair, and 3= poor) to each building. In the end, Edwards (1991) found an “improvement in the condition of the school by one category . . . is associated with an improvement in average academic achievement scores of 5.5 percentage points” (p. 1). Of great significance is the fact that Edwards (1991) has statistically proven that students learning in “buildings in poor condition will have lower achievement scores than those in better maintained buildings” (p. 19). Embedded in these results are policy implications which suggest funding for public school building maintenance and capital improvements must be adequate and not subject to budget reductions. Edwards (1991) thus surmises that “good infrastructure is truly at the base of a quality education” and for a “society searching for ways to address the educational needs of the future, the building itself is a good place to start” (p. 47). In a similar study, Cash (1993) investigated the relationship between building conditions and academic achievement in rural Virginia high schools.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
This chapter covers the description and discussion on the various techniques and procedures used in the study to collect and analyze the data as it is deemed appropriate
Research Design
For this study, the survey research design was adopted. The choice of the design was informed by the objectives of the study as outlined in chapter one. This research design provides a quickly efficient and accurate means of assessing information about a population of interest. It intends to assess the impact of school facilities on the academic performance of students in secondary schools in igarra akoko edo local government area, edo state
The study will be conducted in Edo State, Nigeria.
Population of the Study
A total of 800 questionnaires were distributed. Although only 200 were returned and completed. This will serve as the Population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
This chapter is devoted to the presentation, analysis and interpretation of the data gathered in the course of this study. The data are based on the number of copies of the questionnaire completed and returned by the respondents. The data are presented in tables and the analysis is done using the chi-square test.
Data Presentation and Analysis
The data presented below were gathered during field work.
QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTRATION
INSTRUCTION: please endeavor to complete the questionnaire by ticking the correct answer(s) from the options or supply the information required where necessary.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
The purpose of this study is to find out the impact of school facilities on academic performance of secondary schools students in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State. While we do not have the data to identify the specific mechanism by which compliances is linked to educational outcomes, from existing research, we know that school buildings in poor shape lead to reduced learning.
FINDINGS
From the questionnaires distributed we were able to get the following information based on the responses of the respondents concerning the topic impact of school facilities on student academic performance:
- school facilities have impact on the academic performance of students
- improved school facilities has significant impact on the level of patronage of the school
- government policy has effect on the availability of school facilities in most secondary school in agarra akoko Edo local government
- physical resources is one of the factors that is affecting the academic performance of students
CONCLUSION
From the result of the data analysis and the responses of the respondents we conclude that physical resources like the labouratory equipment and the availability of good and experienced teachers are among the factors that is affecting the academic performance of students.
RECOMMENDATION
The federal governement of Nigeria should bring in a favourable policy so as to increase on the improvement of school facilities. The school should always write and complain to the federal government of Nigeria to make provision for experience teacher and good labouratory equipments to increase the academic performance of students.
REFERENCES
- American Association of School Administrators. (2004). Schoolhouse in the red: An administrator’s guide to improving america’s school facilities and environment. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.
- Bell, D. (1972). Race racism and american law. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. Bell, D. (1980). Brown and the interest convergence dilemma.
- In L. Parker, D. Deyhle, and S. Villenas (eds.), Race is . . . race isn’t: Criticial race theory and qualitative studies in education (p. 7-30).
- Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Bell, D. (1987). And we are not saved: The elusive quest for racial justice. New York: BasicBooks.
- Bell, D. (1992). Faces at the bottom of the well: The permanence of racism. New York: BasicBooks. Berger, P. & Luckmann, T. (1996). The social construction of reality. London: Penguin Books. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (1988). An imperiled generation: Saving urban schools.
- Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Cash, C. (1993). A study of the relationship between school building condition and student achievement and behavior. Blacksburg, VA: Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, p. 1-124.
