Influence of School Facilities on Academic Performance of Students in Economics

Influence of School Facilities on Academic Performance of Students in Economics

 ABSTRACT

This study was designed to investigate the influence of school facilities on academic performance of students in Economics in in Abak Local Government Area. The population of the study was made up of six hundred and eighteen (618) students to be drawn from the eleven public secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area. Three research questions and three research hypotheses was postulated to guide the study. The study will employ survey research design in carrying out the study. The sample size for the study was 100 Economic students to be drawn from five selected secondary schools in the study area. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the respondents for the study. Based on the result of the finding it was recommended among others that government should increase annual budgeting for education sector as this will help schools especially the secondary level to improve the existing infrastructure deficit in our schools.

Influence of School Facilities on Academic Performance of Students in Economics

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Over the years and more especially in different facets of life -laymen, parents, clergy educationists etc. have been very much concerned about the relationship between school facilities and students’ academic performance in secondary schools. Some are of the opinion that school facilities have direct relationship with students’ academic performance, others hold that inadequate school facilities can have adverse effect on students performance. Schools are established for the purpose of teaching and learning. It is also more important that the teachers and learners are properly accommodated to facilitate the teaching and learning that go on there. This is the essence of the school facilities (Alimi 2014).

School facilities refer to human resource facilities, physical facilities and instructional materials equipment. Human resources include teachers, store attendants, librarians and library attendants, laboratory assistants to mention but a few. Physical facilities and instructional materials equipment on the other hand, comprise classrooms, staff rooms, administrative blocks, dormitories, libraries, laboratories, examination halls, teachers’ quarters, text books, audio- visual materials and items of furniture, laboratory chemicals and equipment  (Adeyemi, 2010).

Ani in Ndu, Ocho and Okeke  (1997)  defined physical facilities and equipment as the location, the school buildings and other material resources provided in the school for the purpose of enhancing teaching and learning processes. According to him, physical facilities and equipment include the fixed and mobile structures and materials in the school such as the classroom buildings, laboratories, laboratory equipment, the audio and visual aids. The importance of school facilities can never be over-emphasized. It is the talk of the day in our national dailies.

The availability of human resources and physical facilities ensures effective teaching and learning and is closely correlated with the students’ performance. Ike (2017) attributes students’ low performance in Economics to the lack of qualified staff. According to him, there has been an unprecedented expansion at all levels of education, which has not been matched with a corresponding increase in the number of qualified teachers.

Nworgu (2015) on the other hand, asserted that no matter the strength of manpower resources in the system, educational process must require conducive physical accommodation, libraries, furniture, and play ground. Adesina and Ogunsaju (2014) in support noted that for effective teaching and learning situations, facilities and educational goals should be viewed as being closely interwoven and interdependent. In other words, poor performance of students in schools has direct correlation with non-availability of school facilities. The problem generated by non-availability of school facilities in secondary schools can no longer be dismissed with a wave of hand.

Ezeocha (2009) maintained that a good teacher may not operate effectively and efficiently under bad conditions of work. Njoku in Ezeocha (2009) stated some of these conditions in his article and they include manageable class size, adequate classrooms, books, writing materials and well-equipped libraries. He asserted that the best curriculum could be marred by inefficient, unqualified and poorly rewarded and undisciplined teachers.

Osobonye (2002) stated that laboratory has been identified as the most suitable place to acquire the right scientific skills and attitudes. In the laboratory, the pupil is afforded the opportunity to develop and practice the processes of science such as observations, communication, and formulation of hypotheses, experimentation and classification. Osobonye then concluded by saying that if one was to achieve any or all of the aims of teaching science in secondary schools one has to take proper stock of laboratories and identify those factors which constitute a draw back to the use of the laboratory for the purpose it was set up and take appropriate step to correct them.

Ukeje (2008) summarized these problems when he stated that in Nigerian Schools everything is in short supply: “schools are in short supply, teachers or perhaps the right caliber of teachers are in short supply, classrooms are in short supply and above all, throughout the system people with the right attitude, orientation and dedication are in extreme short supply:”

It has also been observed that even the few school facilities available are not properly utilized for the better performance of students. Storekeepers, laboratory attendants, librarians and library attendants are conspicuously absent in most schools. What they have are what they call substitutes. The so-called substitutes may not be efficient because it is difficult for one to give what he/she has not. To buttress, this, many schools have teacher librarians without library assistants. The teacher librarian locks up the library when he goes to class to teach. The consequence is that the students are not allowed to make effective use of the library Popoola, (2009).

Instructional materials have been defined by various authors. According to Obanya (2009) he viewed them as didactic materials thing which are supposed to make learning and teaching possible. According to Abdullahi (2010), instructional materials are materials or tools locally made or imported that could made tremendous enhancement of lesson impact if intelligently used. They are objects or devices, which help the teacher to make a lesson much clearer to the learner. Instructional materials are also described as concrete or physical objects which provide sound, visual or both to the sense organs during teaching (Agina-obu, 2015).

Instructional materials have been observed as a powerful strategy to bring about effective teaching and learning. The importance of quality and adequate instructional materials in teaching and learning can occur through their effective utilization during classroom teaching. Instructional materials here include all the tools that the teachers can use to make the teaching and learning more interesting and memorable.

According to Farombi, (2008), instructional materials include books, audio-visual, software and hardware of educational technology. The priority of all countries, especially the developing ones, is to improve the quality of schools and the achievement of pupils since learning outcomes depend largely on the quality of education being offered. It is against this background that the study sought to investigate school facilities and academic performance in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area.

1.2       Statement of Problem

The national policy on Education stipulated certain goals for secondary education. Some of those goals are;  (1)  to provide all primary school leavers with the opportunity for education of  a  higher level, irrespective of sex, social status, religious or ethnic background. (2) To offer diversified curriculum to cater for the differences in talents, opportunities and future roles.

In Nigeria for example, majority of the students in public schools perform poorly in an external examinations. This situation makes it impossible for the attainment of the above goals of national policy. For instance, there are many school dropouts today who can never write their names and can never enter into any secondary or fit anywhere in the society.

In addition, secondary schools set up preliminary programmes to enable the poorly performed students gain admission. All the above problems are as a result of poor performance of students, which appears deep rooted in inadequacy and or lack of facilities inherent in schools today. It is noted that “acute shortage of teachers in the nation’s schools has been adduced as one of the reasons for the poor performance of students in an examination”. It also stated that poor facilities, inadequate staffing and under funding in secondary schools have remained insurmountable threat’s to education in the country.

Sequel to the above assertion, it therefore, pre supposes that inadequacy and/or lack of school facilities as well as poor utilization of available facilities must never be overlooked. The problem of this study therefore, was to determine the relationship between school facilities on students’ academic performance in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area.

Influence of School Facilities on Academic Performance of Students in Economics

1.3       Purpose of Study

The main purpose of this study was to find out the influence of school facilities on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area, specifically, the study sought to:

1. examine the influence of availability of  schools library on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area
2. determine the influence of classroom on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area
3. examine the influence of instructional materials on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area

1.4       Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study;

1. What is the influence of schools library on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area?
2. What is the influence of classroom on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area?
3. What is the influence of instructional materials on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area?

1.5       Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were postulated to guide the study;

1. There is no significant influence of schools library on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area
2. There is no significant influence of classroom on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area
3. There is no significant influence of instructional materials on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area

1.6       Significance of the Study

It is expected that the result of this finding was of great benefits to students, teachers, and the Government etc in different ways.

1.7       Delimitation of the Study

The study was delimited to teachers’ characteristics and academic performance of students in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area.

1.8       Limitation of the Study

Challenges to be encountered by the researcher was in cooperated in the study

1.9       Operational Definition of Terms

Some technical terms were defined sequel to the study such as teacher, experience, teaching, characteristics etc.