The impact of school facilities and secondary school teachers job productivity
Abstract
This study is the impact of school facilities and secondary school teachers job productivity. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected secondary schools in Uyo. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up principals, teachers, senior staff and junior staff was used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies.
Chapter one
Introduction
1.1Background of the study
Schools are established for the purpose of teaching and learning. It is very important that the teachers and learners are properly accommodated to facilitate the primary purpose of teaching and learning. (Alimi, 2004). According to Isaiah (2013), educators are increasingly being held accountable for student achievement and growth as determined by a myriad of tests and data, but not much is being acknowledged about the buildings and learning environments where the educational process is housed. He went further to say that educators/teachers are directed to leave no child behind academically. The teachers where encouraged not to leave the children behind, but the physical environments and status of buildings were overlooked. The surroundings and environments, in which teachers and students find themselves in, certainly may influence the ways in which they teach and learn. There are indicators that educational environments in which human beings learn do indeed have a definite influence on a child’s learning process and growth in the affective, behavioural and cognitive development. It is in view of this, that Owoeye and Yara (2011) stated that school facilities have been observed as a potent factor to quality education. According to Oni in Owoeye and Yara (2011), facilities constitute a strategic factor in organizational functioning. This is so because they determine to a very large extent the smooth functioning of any organization or system including education. He further stated that their availability, adequacy and relevance influences efficiency and high productivity.
In his word, Farombi (2008) opined that the wealth of a nation or society could determine the quality of education in that land; emphasizing that a society that is wealthy will establish good schools with quality teachers, learning infrastructures that with such, students may learn with ease thus bringing about good academic achievement. Writing on the role/influence of facilities in teaching and learning process, Belogun (2002), submitted that no effective science education programme can exist without equipment for teaching. This is because facilities enable the learner to develop problem-solving skills and scientific attitudes. In their contribution Ajaji and Ogun Yemi in Owoeye and Yara (2011) reiterated that when facilities are provided to meet the relative needs of a school, system, students will not only have access to the reference materials mentioned by the teacher, but individual students will also learn at their own paces. The next effect of this is increased over all academic performance of the entire students.
Observations have shown that in every level of schooling whether at the primary, secondary or tertiary level of education, there are basic facilities which make it possible for the school to achieve the school management’s desired goals. However, school facilities refers to the school plants which have been seen as one of the basic educational requirements that are very necessary to maintain safe and high quality output from any educational establishment. According to Costaldi in Apagu and Wakili (2015), school facilities refer to those materials of education which enables a skillful teacher to achieve a level of instructional effectiveness that exceeds what is possible when there are not provided. They went further to say that the materials of educational facilities are numerous. They said that whatever material or service which helped to facilitate teaching and learning fall under the term school facilities. According to them, school facilities consist of the following; land, buildings, play ground, school farm, libraries, laboratories, assembly hall, assembly ground, classroom, teaching aids which include the audio cassettes, radio set, the television set, video sets, tapes, slide flip, cartoons, projectors, graphics; charts, posters, pictures, photographs, graphs, maps, displaying materials such as chalkboard, white board, flannel board, billboards, magnetic board and electronic devices such as computer and its facilities.
According to the National Policy on Education, (2004) the following are part of the Educational goals of the Nigerian nation:
- The training of the mind in the understanding of the world around.
- The acquisition of mental, physical and social abilities and competence as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of his society.
The educational goals stated above cannot be achieved without the availability of school plant (facilities). Bamidele (2006) and Ofodu (2007) observed that various information and communication technologies(ICTs)/computer facilities used in the teaching and learning process in secondary schools and technical colleges include; radio, television, computers, overhead projectors, optical fibers, fax machines, CD-ROM, internet, electronic notice board, slides, digital multimedia, video/VCD machine and so on.
However it appears that some of these facilities are not sufficiently provided for teaching and learning in the schools. This might account for why teachers are not making use of them in their teaching. According to Ajayi (2008), the use of these facilities involves various methods which include systematized feedback system, computer-based operation/network, video conferencing and audio conferencing; internet/world wide websites and computer assisted instruction. It should be stressed that the effective use of the various facilities in teaching and learning depends on the availability of those facilities and teachers competences in using them.
The influence of these school facilities on the teachers’ effectiveness and students’ performance/achievement can never be over emphasized. This is due to the fact that the state of a school is one effective predictor of student achievement and level of job satisfaction/ dissatisfaction of a teacher (Mpho, 2013). The physical state of buildings affects the teacher’s self esteem, peer and student teacher interactions, parents’ involvement, discipline, motivation and interpersonal relationships. As more important attention is being given to the issue of teacher retention, effectiveness, more factors contributing to these aspects are being realized.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Investigations have revealed that there is poor performance of secondary school students. This poor performance is noticed in both internal and external examinations. This may be as a result of inadequate or non availability of school facilities. Teachers find it difficult to carryout effective instruction in schools. They also encounter difficulties in the implementation of continuous assessment and this may be linked to the problem of school facilities. The administrators on their own side encounter a lot of challenges in the general administration of the school probably due to lack of school facilities and poor condition of the available ones.
1.3 Objective of the study
Objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the relationship between school facilities and secondary school teachers job productivity
- To ascertain the impact of school facilities on academic performance of student
- To ascertain influence of school facilities on the general administration of the school.
Research hypotheses
For the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;
H0: there is no relationship between school facilities and secondary school teachers job productivity.
H1: there is relationship between school facilities and secondary school teachers job productivity.
H02: there is no impact of school facilities on academic performance of student
H2: the impact of school facilities on academic performance of student
Significance of the study
The findings of this study will be beneficial to the Federal Ministry of Education who will from it have an insight on the influence of school facilities on teaching and learning in our secondary schools, and in their attempt to improve the standard of Education in the entire country budget for the provision of school facilities in our secondary schools which will in turn improve the standard of the nation’s education and the output as well. The parents will in no small measure benefit from this study as the outcome of it when implemented will lead to the overall improvement of the secondary education system both in private and in public schools as when the school facilities are available in its’ adequate measure it will not only improve their children’s performance in both their internal and external examinations but it will also make them to be more functional and skillful in their future endeavours.
The teachers will benefit immensely from this study as it will make their job easier to them thereby putting them in a better position to prepare the students to meet their desired expectation. Musibau and Johnson (2010) observed that the performance of students in any academic task has always been of special interest to the educators, parents and the society at large. This is why the primary concern of any educator who is entrusted with the responsibility of selecting students for any advance training programme in a given field is the ability to estimate as accurately and as early as possible the probability that such candidates will succeed or fail. The teacher becomes very optimistic of the success of his/her candidates in any external or internal examination when he has made his teaching very effective and practical oriented with the proper use of the school facilities in his disposal.
To the students, the findings of this study when implemented will go a long way to improve their performance in any examination. The school facilities that will be provided to their various schools will not only make their teachers more effective, functional and satisfactory with their job but will also help them to learn at their own pace and improve their performance in both internal and external examinations.
Scope and limitation of the study
Scope of the study covers the impact of school facilities and secondary school teachers job productivity. The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;
- a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
- b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
Definition of terms
Academic performance: This means the level of attainment on what the students have been able to achieve in terms of success in examination.
School facility: This refers to all essential teaching aids and equipment in teaching and learning process.
School building: Refers to tangible structures which serve as shatter for educational activities.
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